An outbreak of cholera in a remote fishing village in southeastern Guinea Bissau has killed two people and infected 53 the World Health Organization (WHO) warns.
“The outbreak is very localised at the moment. It seems to be restricted to villages in one sector and we have not received reports of cases in any other region in Bissau,” said Daniel Kertesz, head of the WHO in Bissau, which provided the figures.
The outbreak of the bacterial infection, which in its most extreme cases can kill people in as little as a few hours after infection, is currently being “effectively” contained by the ministry of health, supported by the WHO, Kertesz said.
Some 40 cases of cholera have also been reported across the border in Guinea Conakry and are also being dealt with by local authorities there.
“People in these areas fish all up and down the coast, so it could potentially spread to other countries, but we have not seen evidence of that happening yet,” Kertesz added.
Cholera is essentially a disease of poor sanitation that occurs in areas where people lack access to fresh potable water and basic sanitation facilities. The WHO describes is as “one of the key indicators of social development” because it only occurs regularly in poorly developed countries.
Guinea Bissau has some of the worst coverage of modern water and sanitation infrastructure in the world according to the UN. In rural areas less than half of people have access to clean water and less than 25 percent to modern toilets.
“Several problems affect the water and sanitation sector including institutional and management problems, lack of funding and qualified technicians,” the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) notes in its profile of water and sanitation in Guinea Bissau.
The annual rainy season started in Guinea Bissau earlier in May and cholera is a common occurrence throughout this period as poor sanitation infrastructure means sewage and human waste get mixed with water used for drinking.
“In this area of Guinea Bissau people are in an especially difficult situation with such low access to potable water and sanitation,” Kertesz said.
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