Cholera spreading in Kasai Oriental - WHO

The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over the spread of cholera in Kasai Oriental Province, central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where three new areas were affected 1-8 June. WHO reported on Friday that there was also a high risk of the epidemic spreading to the neighbouring province, Kasai Occidental. The agency said that as of 8 June, the Ministry of Health had reported 13,452 cases of cholera, with 380 deaths across the country. It said the most affected provinces were Sud Kivu, where 1,387 cases including 26 deaths had been reported; Katanga - 7,557 cases with 221 deaths, and Kasai Oriental, where 3,098 cases and 89 deaths had been reported. Most of the cases occurred in Tsilingue in Kasai Oriental, WHO reported. It said the governor of Kasai Oriental has organised a cholera taskforce meeting with partners, including WHO, "to look at how to increase capacity in the cholera treatment centres and how to provide supplies for patients with severe dehydration".