Explosion in the number of cholera cases in Mozambique after Cyclone Freddy

UPGRADE DAY

Cholera cases in Mozambique have risen tenfold since February, with more than 28,000 people infected in the southern African country still reeling from the passage of deadly Cyclone Freddy, alerted Tuesday the Unicef.

“More than 28,000 cases of cholera have been recorded in Mozambique,” ​​Guy Taylor, spokesperson for the Mozambican branch of the United Nations agency which distributed 2.4 million doses of oral vaccines in the country.

“This is ten times higher than the figure recorded at the beginning of February, and more than half of the cases are children,” he continued, adding that the figures continue to increase. The interruption of water supply, hygiene services and sanitation caused by the cyclone increased the spread.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease has killed 123 people in Mozambique since the end of last year. An acute diarrheal infection caused by the absorption of food or water contaminated with bacteria, cholera is on the rise, particularly in Africa, according to the WHO.

According to Unicef, Freddy destroyed a hundred health establishments and 250 water points in Mozambique, depriving around 300,000 people of drinking water, mainly in the center of the country, which is one of the poorest in the world.

The cyclone caused the least 86 dead in the country of 33 million inhabitants and tens of thousands of people lost their homes. More than 390,000 hectares of land were also affected by the cyclone, raising concerns for the next harvest.

Freddy first hit Madagascar and Mozambique in late February before returning to the Indian Ocean . He had then regained power thanks to the warm waters and turned around, returning to the mainland. On his return, he hit Malawi, a landlocked country hard, where he left nearly 680 dead and many missing.