Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Maroua (Agenzia Fides) – Cholera has killed at least 94 people in northern Cameroon and is spreading, in what health officials say is the most severe outbreak in 10 years. Moloko has had more than half the region's cases - 773 as of 3 August. There are some 30 new cases every day. By the end of July some 1,300 cases of what is known as “the disease of poverty” were registered. Health workers in northern Cameroon said a lack of access to latrines and safe drinking water was contributing to the spread of infectious disease in the region. Only 30 percent of people in rural Cameroon have access to safe water, and just 15 percent to sanitation facilities, according to a 2009 report by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Cameroon. Health workers were being sent to villages with medicines, saline solution and other supplies, to limit the movement of infected people. Cholera treatment is being provided free of charge, with the support of UNICEF, the Red Cross, the World Health Organization and UN Population Fund, health officials said. In the village of Sirak the public school - currently unoccupied as students are on holiday - has been transformed into a cholera treatment center that treats at least 5 new cases each day. The centre is short of bleach - used as a disinfectant - and supplies for intravenous drips. There is also no electricity in the village. Cholera outbreaks are common in northern Cameroon, but this year the epidemic has not only been more severe but also struck earlier than usual. In 2009, the first infection was recorded in September; this year the first case was detected in May, before the rains began. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 5/8/2010)
