Via IRIN Africa: CONGO: Cholera hits munitions blast displaced. Excerpt:
A cholera outbreak is adding to the woes of thousands of people displaced by a huge munitions blast in the Congolese capital Brazzaville about a month ago, say officials.
“We have 10 confirmed cases of cholera,” Youssouf Gamatié, the UN World Health Organization’s representative in Congo, told IRIN.
Poor hygiene and sanitation conditions in the sites for the displaced as well as ongoing rains have helped spread the disease, which is affecting all age groups, added Gamatié.
The covered market in Nkombo, north Brazzaville, and the down-town Sacred Heart Cathedral sites are the worst affected. Together these two places are providing refuge for 11,000 of the 14,000 people who were displaced by the explosions, according to official estimates.
Alexis Elira Dokekias, director-general of health, told IRIN there were 13 suspected cases of cholera, with one confirmed case; one person had died.
There has been an ongoing cholera epidemic in central and northern Congo since 2011, Dokekias pointed out.
“Inadequate latrines at the sites for the displaced are increasing contamination. There are faeces everywhere. The children sometimes defecate in the yard,” said Guillaume Ibara, a camp resident at the Sacred Heart site.
