In the Mozambique province of Nampula, 675 cases of cholera were registered in August.

In August, 675 new cases of cholera were reported in the province of Nampula, which is currently a matter of public health concern in Mozambique due to an outbreak that has been affecting parts of the country for almost a year.

According to daily disease progression bulletins prepared by the National Public Health Authority and reviewed by the Luz agency this Monday, the current cholera outbreak in Mozambique has recorded 34,306 cases from September 14, 2022 to September 2, causing 144 deaths, three of which occurred in August in Nampula.

In the province of Nampula, in the north of the country, health authorities have registered 2936 cases up to August 1 with three deaths since the start of the epidemic in the country. Focusing on the city of Nampula, the provincial capital, that total rose to 3,611 cases and six deaths in just one month.

“The epidemic in Nampula is under control, but we still have some cases and multisectoral teams are working to prevent new outbreaks in the city,” Mozambique’s deputy health minister, Iles Giani, said in August.

“We still have some outbreaks of cholera in the country, most of the areas where there were cholera outbreaks are now free,” the official also stressed.

As of September 2, the mortality rate from this disease in the country was 0.4%, 30 people remained hospitalized in the country’s hospitals.

At the end of July, Mozambican health authorities announced outbreaks of cholera in two more districts – Mosimboa da Praia and Mueda in the province of Cabo Delgado, which joined two other districts. Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, has recorded 1,257 cases since September 2022, three of which have been fatal.

Until September 2, most of the accumulated cases of cholera in Mozambique were registered in the province of Zambezia, in the center of the country (13,400 diagnosed and 38 dead), especially affected by the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy in February and March. , following Sofala (7527 cases and 30 deaths) and Nyassa (3501 cases and 25 deaths), but without registering new infections for several weeks.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus highlighted the efforts of Mozambique and the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, to end the cholera epidemic on 13 July in Maputo.

According to the Director-General of WHO, the leader of Mozambique managed to cope admirably with the epidemic, which was exacerbated by the impact of Cyclone Freddie.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most severely affected by climate change in the world, and this situation exacerbates the resistance of infrastructures and services that prevent the disease.

Cholera is a disease that causes severe diarrhea that is treatable but can lead to death from dehydration if not treated promptly.

The disease is largely caused by the consumption of food and water contaminated by the lack of sanitation.

In May, WHO warned that by 2025 there will be a shortage of cholera vaccines worldwide and that one billion people in 43 countries could be infected with the disease.