three-year-old child died of cholera

A cholera epidemic in Mayotte has caused the first death of a three-year-old child in the commune of Cungou, the prefecture and the Regional Health Agency said on Wednesday. Since mid-March, health authorities in Mayotte have recorded 58 cases of cholera (Photo: www.imazpress.com)

“Today our first child died,” they wrote in a joint press release. “The child lived in the Kungu area, where several cases of cholera have been detected in recent weeks.”

This first death occurred on the eve of a visit to Mayotte by Health Minister Frederic Valletou, scheduled for several days.

The first case of cholera in Mayotte was detected in mid-March. She was a woman who had arrived from the Comoros Islands, where the latest official report shows the epidemic is growing with more than 4,000 cases, including 98 deaths.

Read also: First case of cholera detected in Mayotte

In Mayotte, the first “native” cases, diagnosed in patients who did not leave the archipelago, appeared at the end of April.

Cholera, a bacterial disease that can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days, is spread through contaminated water or food. There are effective vaccines and treatments.

Since mid-March, Mahore authorities have recorded 58 cholera cases, including six active cases, according to the latest report on May 6.

The protocol to prevent the spread of the disease, drawn up in February, provides for disinfection of the patient’s home, identification and treatment of contact persons, as well as “ring” vaccination, gradually expanding the area around the home of the cholera patient.

– Increased vigilance in Reunion –

The epidemic in Mayotte and Comoros follows a resurgence of cholera in East Africa from 2021.

As a result of climate change and increased conflict, the number of cholera cases is currently rising rapidly around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes.

The number of reported cases (only a portion of proven cases) more than doubled between 2021 and 2022 to reach 473,000, before rising to more than 700,000 in 2023.

According to the Regional Health Agency, the risk of an epidemic in Reunion is extremely low. However, ARS La Réunion has increased its vigilance against travelers coming from the region, as well as health workers and professionals.

www.imazpress.com with AFP

News from Reunion, Mayotte, Cholera