More than 200 people have lost their lives to cholera as the disease continues to plague Angola, with more than 5,700 cases since January, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.
A bulletin released by the Angolan Ministry of Health on Sunday stated that the country has registered 204 deaths from 5,749 cases – a fatality rate of 3.5 percent. The northeastern province of Luanda, home to the country’s capital, is the epicentre of the outbreak, recording the highest number of cases (2,963), followed by the neighbouring provinces of Bengo (2,004) and Icolo e Bengo (642). Ten other provinces have recorded at least one case.
Cholera is a bacterial disease spread through contaminated water and food, causing severe diarrhoea and dehydration. While it can be deadly, timely rehydration therapy is successful in saving more than 99 percent of cholera patients, underscoring the importance of seeking medical help as soon as possible.
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More than half of fatalities (105) have been in Luanda, followed by Bengo (74), Icolo e Bengo (19), Malanje (3), Cuanza Sul (2) and Cabinda (1). The tiny province of Cabinda, an exclave cut off from the rest of Angola by the Republic of the Congo, has the highest case fatality rate (14.2 percent) having recorded only seven cases, followed by Cuanza Sul (6.9 percent) and Malanje (4.4 percent). The bulletin also noted that 145 people with cholera infections are currently hospitalised.
A report from the World Health Organization (WHO), with information up to 2 March, provides additional insight on the outbreak. The WHO has been instrumental in government efforts to vaccinate Angolans in the three worst-affected provinces, providing 700,495 of the 925,573 oral cholera vaccine (OCV) doses distributed so far.
Luanda, as the most populous province and the worst impacted, has received more than half (626,079) of the distributed vaccines, followed by Icolo e Bengo (228,058) and Bengo (71,436).
With 86 percent of the target population (1,079,476) vaccinated in the first campaign, officials are now adjusting the target population for a second wave of vaccinations. The WHO report notes that the organisation still lacks 69.1 percent of the estimated funding needed to support the Angolan government in prevention, treatment and management of this deadly outbreak.
