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by IANS |
Luanda, Jan 12 (IANS) Angola has registered 170 cholera cases as of 6 p.m. local time, the Ministry of Health said.
In the past 24 hours, three cholera deaths and 51 new cases have been reported on Saturday. The outbreak has now spread to two additional municipalities in the capital province of Luanda.
National emergency response measures have been activated as the cholera outbreak continues to escalate since the first confirmed case was reported on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Earlier on Saturday, Angola's Minister of Health, Silvia Lutucuta, announced that emergency response plans have been activated to address the country's cholera outbreak, particularly in Cacuaco Municipality of Luanda province, the epicentre of the disease.
According to Lutucuta, health authorities have enhanced epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, mobilised resources, improved public health communication and ensured better access to safe drinking water.
"Everything we are doing is to fight this disease," she said.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health convened a meeting of the Multisectoral Commission to combat cholera at the General Hospital in Cacuaco.
Adao Silva, Director-General of the Public Water Company, said that 17 community water tanks previously used for drinking water have been cleaned, with their contents analysed and drained. These tanks are no longer in use to ensure safer water supplies for the affected residents.
Angola's Ministry of Health (MINSA) has updated and activated its national cholera response plan, mobilising medical resources and supplies. Key measures include enhanced epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, community communication initiatives, and water and sanitation interventions, such as distributing calcium hypochlorite and disinfecting and supplying potable water tanks.
The ministry cited challenges in managing the outbreak, particularly poor sanitation in affected areas and the lack of potable water systems in high-risk regions.
The bulletin defines a cholera case as "a patient with severe or extreme dehydration, or death due to acute watery diarrhoea, with or without vomiting, in individuals over the age of two in areas where cholera is present." A confirmed case is "a suspected case where the cholera vibrio has been isolated in stool samples."
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