Sixteen people have been detained in Mozambique’s Zambezia province for “misinformation” about cholera, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda said, saying lies about the disease had led to lynchings and destruction.
Rhonda, quoted this Saturday by Notícias, Mozambique’s main daily, said the arrests took place between May and November in three locations in Zambezia province.
“Such behavior [de desinformação] they hinder the success of the actions that the government is taking for the well-being of the population and, above all, are a violation of the law,” he said.
Rumors about the cause of cholera have led local residents to attack, sometimes fatally, health workers distributing chlorine, a chemical that kills the bacteria that causes the disease.
Rumors about the origins of the disease “are damaging to the physical integrity of those willing to help solve the problem, as well as damaging public and private infrastructure such as health centers, police stations and public housing,” the interior minister said.
Spreaders of a wave of misinformation are leading the public to believe that health care workers and community leaders are responsible for spreading cholera-carrying bacteria when they distribute chlorine.
Mozambique’s cholera outbreak has worsened in recent weeks, with another 2,200 new cases and six deaths reported, bringing the number of deaths since September 2022 to 150, according to official data accessed by Lusa.
According to the latest disease development bulletin prepared by the National Directorate of Public Health, a total of 36,617 cases were reported in Mozambique between 14 September 2022 and 8 November 2023.
The Mozambican government announced on Tuesday it was sending teams to the country’s four cholera-affected provinces to monitor the situation and find solutions to stop the disease, a day after outbreaks were announced in some areas.
Teams will be deployed from Friday to Nampula and Cabo Delgado (in the north of the country), as well as Zambezia and Tete (in the center), provinces that are “showing signs of the need for a more thorough approach to outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhea.” “associated with cholera,” Filiman Suaze, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said during a press conference after an executive meeting in Maputo.
Cholera is a disease that causes severe diarrhea, which is treatable but can lead to death from dehydration if not treated promptly.
The disease is largely caused by eating contaminated food and water due to lack of sanitation facilities.
In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that there would be a global shortage of cholera vaccines by 2025 and that one billion people in 43 countries could be infected with the disease, citing Mozambique in October as having one of the highest incidence rates. countries at risk.
Mozambique is considered one of the countries hardest hit by climate change in the world, a situation that is worsening the resilience of infrastructure and services that prevent the disease.