Mozambican police have arrested two people on suspicion of vandalizing local government houses they blame for spreading cholera in the Angoche region of Nampula, northern Mozambique, a corporate source said on Tuesday.
“They destroyed the house of the first secretary of the circle and the surrounding area, allegedly because they were distributing medicine to spread the disease,” said Rosa Chauk, spokesperson for the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Nampula, during a press conference. in this province.
A police spokesman condemned the actions of members of the public who invaded and attacked the homes of community leaders, calling for measures to be taken to prevent the disease.
At least 23 people have been killed and another 30 injured due to a wave of misinformation about cholera in Mozambique, according to data released in January by Mozambican police chief Bernardino Rafael.
In addition to the dead and injured, 91 infrastructure assets, mostly belonging to government and community authorities, were vandalized.
Community leaders and health workers were mostly killed and injured by members of the public on allegations that they brought the disease into the communities.
Between May and November, at least 16 people were detained in Sofala province in central Mozambique for providing erroneous information about cholera, authorities said.
The current cholera outbreak has already killed at least 30 people in Mozambique since October, 12 of which occurred in Nampula.
According to the latest disease development bulletin prepared by the National Directorate of Public Health and with data as of March 8, a total of 13,397 cholera cases have been recorded in the country since October 1.
The province most affected by the current wave of cholera outbreak is Nampula (north), which has a total of 4,296 cases and 12 deaths, followed by Tete (northwest) with 2,535 cases and nine deaths, where the prevalence of the disease has risen to 0 .4% over the last few days.
Cholera is a treatable disease that causes severe diarrhea and 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.
LN // MLL
Lusa/The End
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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