Mozambique: More than 10,000 cases of cholera since outbreak began in October

On Sunday, Mozambique surpassed 10,000 cases of cholera in the current outbreak that has been affecting the north of the country since October, but with no deaths recorded for more than two weeks, according to official figures.

According to the most recent bulletin on the progression of the disease, drawn up by the National Directorate of Public Health and with data up to 21 January, there have been 10,061 cases of cholera in the country since 1 October, with 25 deaths and 7,321 people hospitalised.

In the last ten days, there have been another 800 new cases of the disease but no deaths, according to these reports.

The lethality rate caused by this outbreak has dropped in the last week from 0.3% to 0.2%, according to the bulletin, which continues to identify nearly 30 districts, mainly in the north of the country, with active cholera cases.

The province most affected by the current wave of this cholera outbreak is Nampula (north), with a total of 3,246 cases and 12 deaths, followed by Tete (north-west), with 1,897 cases and six deaths.

The Mozambican health authorities recently vaccinated more than 2.2 million people against cholera in five days in the districts most affected by the current outbreak, corresponding to practically full coverage compared to the programme.

Speaking to Lusa earlier, the head of the Ministry of Health’s Extended Vaccination Programme, Leonildo Nhampossa, said that a total of 2,268,548 people over the age of one had been vaccinated against cholera in four provinces between 8 and 12 January.

This “corresponds to 100% coverage. The objectives were fully achieved,” he said.

The target group for this vaccination operation was 2,271,136 people, corresponding to the population living in the most vulnerable and hotspot areas for the current outbreak, the Ministry of Health previously stated.

According to information from the National Directorate of Public Health, the campaign was aimed at the population aged one year and over and was carried out in the districts of Chiúre and Montepuez (Cabo Delgado province), Gilé, Gurué and Mocuba (Zambézia), Mágoe, Moatize and Zumbo (Tete) and Maringue (Sofala).

This vaccination campaign mobilised 1,136 teams, with 7,337 staff, including vaccinators, mobilisers, registrars, supervisors, coordinators, data entry staff, logisticians and drivers, among others, and cost around $1.3 million (€1.19 million ), including funds from the state and Mozambique’s cooperation partners.

Source: Lusa