As government and aid agencies battled to contains the spread of disease among tens of thousands of victims displaced by the cyclone-hit Mozambican port city of Beira, reports on Friday, 29th March, 2019 show that confirmed cases of cholera cases in the area has taken a quantum leap from five to an alarming number of 138.
On 14th March, 2019, Cyclone Idai ripped through Beira as it causes a massive flooding and killing more than 700 people across three countries in southeast Africa – Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
In Mozambique and Zimbabwe, it has been reported that some of the badly affected areas are still not accessible by road; this has contributed to some of the challenges faced by aid agencies in relief effort and in detecting and treatment of infections in those areas.
According to the Mozambique’s environment minister, Celso Correia said, there have been no confirmed cholera deaths in medical centers in Mozambique yet, but at least two people had died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhea.
While speaking to journalists, Celso Correia in a statement said that, “We expected this, we were prepared for this, we’ve doctors in place.” The government said for the first time that there had been confirmed cholera cases on Wednesday, 27th March, 2019
It was however reported that on Wednesday 27th March, 2019 the body of a dead child was seen being brought out of an emergency clinic in Beira. The child had suffered acute diarrhea, which can be a symptom of cholera.
In a report by the Mozambique’s National Disaster Management Institute stated that the local death toll from the tropical storm had increased to 493 people, from 468 previously. That takes the total death toll across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to 738 people, with many more still missing.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, “Stranded communities are relying on heavily polluted water. This combined with widespread flooding and poor sanitation creates fertile grounds for disease outbreaks, including cholera.”
Tarik Jasarevic who spoke on behalf of the World Health Organization’s stated that 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine were expected to arrive on Monday 1st April, 2019.
On Friday, 29th March, 2019, the U.S. Defense Department stated that it had authorized an additional $8.5 million in humanitarian assistance for Mozambique, bringing the total to $15 million. About 50 U.S. military personnel have been sent to Mozambique to assist with logistics, including transporting food and medical supplies.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had regular outbreaks over the past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the last outbreak, which ended in February 2018.”
In the present condition of Beira with the large scale of the damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, coupled with its dense population, the fear for an impending epidemic is imminent in Beira.