CHAD-GUINEA: cholera epidemic returns
Pastor Dale Morgan
*CHAD-GUINEA: cholera epidemic returns*
03 Nov 2006 13:28:23 GMT
Source: IRIN
CONAKRY, 3 November (IRIN) - Cholera has surged again in Guinea since
the rainy season began in June, including in the capital, Conakry, where
the Health Ministry reported 626 cases so far this year.
"The latest wave is occurring because of poor sanitation during the main
rainy season and a lack of potable water," said Emmanuel Roland Malano,
who head's the government's division of epidemiological diseases.
He said 25 people have died in Conakry, including 19 who passed away at
their homes.
Cholera is an acute bacterial intestinal infection that is transmitted
through contaminated food and water. It has a short incubation period,
from one day to five days, with the main symptom being diarrhoea that
can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if untreated.
Guinean health officials said they are warning the population against
physical contact with people suspected of having contracted the illness.
They specifically advise against contact with the bodies of those who
have died from it.
In the remote Forest Region in the southeast, 13 people died of cholera
in September in the town Kissidougou and another 20 died in the town of
Lola, according to Mory Moussa Doukoure, a doctor at the laboratory in
Conakry's Donka Hospital, Guinea's main health facility.
In 2005, Guinea had 1,956 cases of cholera between mid-July and early
September with 72 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In addition to Guinea, cholera is on the rise elsewhere in Africa.
Authorities in Chad have tallied 1,201 cases with 60 dead between June
and October. The highest number occurred in the southwest in the
Hadjer-Lamis region where authorities confirmed 558 cases with 28 dead.
Chad's minister of public health, Ngarmbatna Carmelle Sou IV, told
reporters this week that Chadians needed to make a greater effort to
protect themselves and their environment by more frequently using
toilets and ensuring that their water supplies are protected.
Otherwise, Ngarmbatna said, "a cholera epidemic [will continue to] make
its home in our country every wet season".