Cholera epidemic continues to plague Mbuji-Mayi

A cholera epidemic that erupted several weeks ago in Kasai Oriental Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has so far resulted in 89 deaths of a total of 324 reported cases in the region, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday. DRC Health Minister Mamba Mashako, who recently led a fact-finding mission to the region, announced the epidemic. Most of the cases have so far been found among men under the age of 30 working in the Bakamba mines. As for women, relatively few cases have been reported, primarily among women running restaurants where the miners dine. The proportion of cases affecting children is around 5 percent. Mashako called the rate of spread of the cholera "very worrying", particularly given some of the current challenges faced: human resources currently in place were insufficient, as many had never cared for cholera before; some health care workers had abandoned their posts for fear of contamination, not knowing how to protect themselves; the casual manner of transporting patients via public transportation to health centres was of concern due to fears of contamination, particularly in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, with a population of 1.8 million; and the current medical supply would be exhausted by Monday. Compounding matters is fear that the outbreak has been caused by sorcery: one family suspected of sorcery was forced to drink water that had been used to wash a deceased family member, believed to be a means of determining whether one is a sorcerer. The entire family died as a result. Among the NGOs currently on site and involved in relief efforts are the Belgian sections of Medecins Sans Frontieres and Memisa, as well as Caritas and Catholic Relief Services.