Angola cholera outbreak spreads to Namibia
Source: Reuters
WINDHOEK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Namibia has reported its first cases of cholera after six people fell ill in towns along the border with Angola, which is battling a major outbreak of the disease, a senior official said on Tuesday. Kalumbi Shangula, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health and Social Services, said five of the six confirmed cases were believed to have contracted cholera in Angola."I cannot recall a case of cholera that was ever recorded in Namibia before," Shangula told a news conference. Shangula said seven people had recently died of various gastro-intestinal illnesses in the area. Officials are still checking to see if any of these cases also involve cholera. There has also been an outbreak of another diarrhoeal disease, giardia lamblia, in the border area and Namibian health officials suspected it was caused by sewage water spilling into local water supplies. "To date there have been seven deaths due to gastro-enteritis (diarrhoea) in the affected areas," Shangula said. The last death was reported on Feb. 5. Officials have distributed water treatment pills and set up medical treatment centres in the area to try to prevent the spread of both illnesses, Shangula said. Last year more than 1,800 people died in Angola of cholera, the country's worst outbreak of the disease in a decade. New cases are on the rise again in Angola following flooding last month. Cholera is a potentially fatal intestinal infection spread by contaminated water.
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