AT LEAST 1,800 DEAD FROM CHOLERA IN EBOLA-HIT DR CONGO: WHO

People walk past cholera prevention posters in Kibera, Nairobi, on May 20, 2015. /VCG

CGTN

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded around 60,000 cholera cases and 1,800 deaths so far this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described it as the country’s worst cholera outbreak in decades.

Tedros said most infections had been reported in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu.

However, he warned that the disease was also spreading along the Congo River basin, raising concerns that it could reach the capital, Kinshasa.

The response is being hampered by insecurity and limited access to remote areas, challenges that are also complicating efforts to contain the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

WHO has warned that the rainy season could accelerate cholera transmission, including in densely populated areas such as Kinshasa.

The outbreak’s case fatality rate stands at around three percent, an unusually high level for a disease that is treatable with timely medical care.

Tedros also stressed the importance of intensifying Ebola vaccination efforts, particularly in conflict-affected parts of eastern DRC.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis