Dr. Patrick Otim, a WHO official monitoring emergencies,
said cholera outbreaks were potentially dangerous because of the short
incubation period and the involvement of contaminated water sources.
“So it’s very important that we support these countries to
be able to respond at the point where the outbreaks have not become too big,”
he said.
Cholera has been reported in 12 of Africa’s 54 countries.
South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe are the latest to detect cases. Malawi,
with hundreds of cholera deaths, faces its worst outbreak ever.
The island nation of Madagascar, the victim of two
destructive cyclones this year, also faces a concerning outbreak.
Cholera is a water-borne disease. Increased rainfall in
countries such as Malawi is slowing control efforts in some areas, said Dr.
Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa.
The WHO has warned that climate change could make cholera
epidemics more common, as the bacteria that causes the disease can reproduce
more quickly in warmer water.
So far 3.4 million doses of the oral cholera vaccine have
been sent to Kenya, Congo and Mozambique, the southern African nation where
cases are increasing, Moeti said.
Africa faces a shortage of the oral cholera vaccine amid
global demand. Other countries facing outbreaks of cholera include Lebanon and
Syria. -AP
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