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Cholera update

    ABIDJAN

    Some 6,000 cases of cholera, 272 of them fatal, have been reported in five West African countries since the start of this year, according to information provided to IRIN by the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Africa Regional Office in Harare, Zimbabwe.

    Ghana recorded 59 deaths for 2012 cases, while in Chad, 83 of the 1,960 people infected with the water-borne disease died. Togo reported 72 deaths for 1,130 cases, Benin registered 641 cases and 41 deaths, and 257 cases were recorded in Cote d’Ivoire, where 17 persons have died from the disease.

    Burkina Faso, which went on an alert after cholera was reported in neighbouring Ghana and Togo, has recorded one case of the disease since the beginning of the year.

    Regional health ministries have undertaken numerous measures to halt the disease’s spread, including strengthening surveillance, educating people on safe water measures, chlorinating wells and other water points, and monitoring food outlets.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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