Fifty more deaths in Angola from cholera
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO) another 50 people have died from cholera in Angola in the last week.
To date this latest outbreak has killed 1,156 people in the country since mid-February and the epidemic is showing no signs of abating and is in fact still spreading.
The WHO says Angola has reported 30,612 cases of cholera since February and half have been in the province of Luanda.
The U.N. agency says 47 people have died of the disease since the last total of 1,109 released on May 5th and in some provinces, the outbreak has just started or is still spreading.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection spread by contaminated water or food; it causes vomiting and acute diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death within 24 hours.
The devastating 27-year civil war that ended in 2002 has resulted in major slum areas in the country which are home to thousands upon thousands of displaced poverty stricken families.
The inevitable overcrowding and poor sanitation has ensured the rapid spread of the water-borne disease.
The WHO is supporting the Angolan Health Ministry’s task force by providing seven tons of emergency supplies such as antibiotics and chlorination tablets to combat the epidemic.
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