Cholera kills 59, more than 2,000 infected in Katanga

An outbreak of cholera in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Katanga killed 59 people and infected more than 2,000 in January, health officials said.

The first cases of the epidemic were noticed between late December and early January in the town of Bukama and the cities of Likasi and Lubumbashi, farther south, according to Vital Mondinge Makuma, the official in charge of epidemics surveillance in the ministry of health.

"The epidemic is a source of concern particularly in Likasi where the number of patients is still growing," said Josep Prior, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF-Belgium) head of mission. "The outbreak has been stabilised in Lubumbashi where some patients are still seeking treatment, but the disease has almost been brought under control in Bukama," he added.

MSF-Belgium is in charge of caring for the sick and leading efforts to combat the outbreak. The agency has set up three treatment centres, two in Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga, and one in Likasi, according to Prior.

"We have handed over the care of Bukama to the ministry of health because the epidemic is almost finished there," he said. According to him, 59 fatalities have been registered in the three affected areas, and 2,083 patients were receiving treatment. Some 687 cases were recorded in Likasi, a city of 300,000 inhabitants. "We have been admitting at least 60 patients per day in Likasi," Prior said, adding that cholera was endemic in Katanga, with outbreaks reported at least once a year.

"Poor families are the most affected because they use water from wells and springs which are often contaminated," said Prior.

MSF-Belgium and local authorities have been carrying out hygiene awareness campaigns through radio and community outreach programmes.

Cholera is a gastro-intestinal disease typically spread by drinking contaminated water and can cause severe diarrhoea which, in extreme cases, can lead to fatal dehydration. It can be prevented by treating drinking water with chlorine and by improving hygiene conditions.

ei/jn/mw