Cholera outbreak in Bardera under control

A cholera outbreak in Bardera which claimed an estimated 240 lives has been brought under control, a UNICEF official told IRIN on Tuesday. The epidemic, which hospitalised 2,000 people, was “huge”, the official said. Somalia’s cholera season traditionally lasts between December and June. Although the Bardera epidemic has been contained, “tomorrow we could have a new outbreak somewhere else,” the official noted. “The difference between one year and the next is that you don’t know where it [cholera] will hit,” he added. UNICEF has responded to the cholera threat by pre-positioning treatment supplies in areas of the country with a UNICEF or NGO presence. In a separate development, the plight of some 300 Somali refugees denied entry to Mombasa on Sunday by Kenyan port police is to be examined today, according to a UNHCR official. The official told IRIN a UNHCR and government team are to register asylum seekers who will later be transferred to the northeastern camp of Dadaab for screening. Press reports said the refugees, fleeing renewed fighting in Kismayu, were among Somalis repatriated from Kenya in December following the closure of their camps.