Cholera continues to advance in Angola with the provinces of Bié and Lunda Sul joining the affected regions, now accumulating 8,543 cases, with 252 new infections and 11 deaths reported over the weekend.
Luanda and Cuanza Norte continue to record the highest number of new cases and deaths from cholera, which has already spread to 16 of the 21 Angolan provinces and caused 329 deaths, according to epidemiological bulletins from the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
Since the beginning of the outbreak, on January 7, 8,543 cases have been reported in the provinces: Luanda (4,143), Bengo (2,485), Icolo and Bengo (813), Cuanza Norte (490), Benguela (222), Malanje (211), Zaire (52), Cabinda (41), Cuanza Sul (36), Huambo (23), Uíge (15), Huíla (seven), (two), Cunene (one), Cubango (one) and Lunda Sul (one), with ages between 2 and 100 years.
There have been 329 deaths since the outbreak began, with the case fatality rate (i.e. the number of cholera deaths relative to the population of a given region over a given period) currently at 3.8%, above the 1% figure set by the World Health Organization as the standard.
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by bacteria, transmitted by direct fecal-oral contamination or by ingestion of contaminated water or food.
Associated with basic sanitation and lack of hygiene, the disease presents symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramps and if left untreated can lead to death.
More than half of the deaths occurred in the province of Luanda, 95 in Bengo, 38 in Cuanza Norte, 21 in Icolo and Bengo, 9 in Benguela, 6 in Malanje, 3 in Cuanza Sul, 2 in Zaire and 1 in Cabinda.
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