Three deaths among 109 cholera cases - WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported 109 cases of cholera, with the loss of three lives, between 18 May and 20 July 2001 in Temeke and Ilala districts of the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health was implementing control measures, including chlorination of all water sources, provision of medical supplies to cholera treatment centres and health education measures, WHO reported on Friday. Settlements in Dar es Salaam have been characterised by lack of basic community infrastructure services, including water supply, sewerage, access roads, drainage and solid-waste management, the Tanzanian government told the UN General Assembly’s “Istanbul plus 5” special session on human shelter in June. Between 40 and 70 percent of the urban residents currently lived in informal settlements, it said. In a climate where, until the mid-1990s, less than 5 percent of solid and liquid waste in Dar es Salaam was collected, and where flooding of low-lying areas is frequent, water-borne diseases present a particular health and development problem.