“The victims are among the 5,260 cases registered by Mozambican authorities at a time when the country is going through a period marked by illness due to the rainy season,” says the Health Minister.
The cholera outbreak that has affected some countries in the southern African region since late last year has led to the death of a total of 37 people in Mozambique, the Portuguese-speaking country’s health minister announced Wednesday.
The victims are among the 5,260 cases recorded by Mozambican authorities, at a time when the country is going through a period marked by “water-borne diseases” due to the rainy season, Armindo Tiago explained.
The Mozambican governor was speaking during a press conference called to take stock of the visit of a high-level delegation of the World Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative, a team also comprising the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti.
“The cholera cases come at a time when the country has already received vaccines and is preparing to begin a vaccination campaign starting on the 26th of this month,” he said.
The ambition is to reach a little more than 700 thousand people in eight districts of the provinces of Niassa, Sofala, Zambézia and Gaza, added Armindo Tiago.
The minister also reinforced the appeal for vigilance among the communities, highlighting that the country is preparing for the approach of a tropical storm.
“Given the possibility that the country will be affected in the coming days by a tropical depression or cyclone, I appeal to the readiness of the health response teams,” he concluded. Outbreaks of cholera and other diarrheal diseases arise seasonally in Mozambique during the rainy season.