Cholera death toll rises to 75 in Chad

Yaounde, Aug 28 (IANS) The death toll of the cholera outbreak in eastern Chad has risen to 75 since July, the country's health ministry said.

The death toll has increased by 12 compared to a report released Monday by health authorities.

More than 900 suspected cases have been recorded in Ouaddai Province.

On Wednesday, Public Health Minister Abdelmadjid Abderahim announced that a week-long vaccination campaign would take place in the affected province in early September.

The government continues to ramp up efforts to curb the spread of the disease, including scaling up water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, Abderahim said.

After the first cholera case was detected in Dougui refugee camp in Ouaddai Province on July 13, four cholera-related deaths were later reported in the camp, which hosts approximately 20,000 Sudanese refugees.

In June, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that cholera cases in Sudan were likely to rise and could spread to neighbouring countries, including Chad, which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from Sudan in crowded conditions, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the WHO, Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It is a global public health threat and indicates inequality and a lack of social and economic development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene is essential to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Most people with cholera have mild or moderate diarrhoea and can be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the disease can progress rapidly, so starting treatment quickly is vital to save lives. Patients with severe disease need intravenous fluids, ORS and antibiotics.

Countries need strong epidemiological and laboratory surveillance to swiftly detect and monitor outbreaks and guide responses.

Cholera outbreaks occur regularly in some countries. In others, they are less frequent, and it may be years between outbreaks. Cholera is linked to limited access to safe water, basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices. This may be due to conflict, population displacement, climate events like cyclones, floods or drought, and lack of investment in maintaining and improving WASH services and infrastructure.

The number of cholera cases reported to the WHO has continued to rise in recent years. In 2023, a total of 535,321 cases and 4007 deaths were reported to the WHO from 45 countries. The discrepancy between these figures and the numbers estimated by researchers is likely due to limited surveillance systems and cases not being recorded out of fear of repercussions for trade and tourism.

--IANS

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