528 people died by Cholera after it spread to 20 of DR Congo’s 26 provinces, WHO

The cholera epidemic has been declared in the city of Goma and its surroundings. Dozens of cases are registered every day since July 7, 2017. Several deaths have been recorded since. The cholera epidemic is the lack of hygiene in the household of some residents.(Esther Nsapu, GPJ Democratic Republic of the Congo)
More than 500 people have died so far in a cholera epidemic that is sweeping Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Outbreaks of the water-borne disease occur regularly in Congo, mainly due to poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean drinking water.

But this year’s epidemic, which has already hit at least 10 urban areas including the capital Kinshasa, is particularly worrying as it comes as about 1.4 million people have been displaced by violence in the central Kasai region.

The WHO said at least 528 people had died and the epidemic had spread to 20 of Congo’s 26 provinces.

“The risk of spread remains very high towards the Grand Kasai region, where degraded sanitary and security conditions further increase vulnerability in the face of the epidemic,” the WHO said in a statement.

So far, health officials have recorded more than 24,000 suspected cases of the disease across the vast nation this year, averaging more than 1,500 new cases per week since the end of July.

The WHO sent a team of experts including epidemiologists and public health specialists to Congo this month in an effort to contain the disease’s spread.

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  • Cholera
  • Cholera Epidemic
  • DR Congo
  • WHO
  • World Health Organization