500 may have died in DR Congo cholera outbreak –WHO

A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that over 500 victims have been declared dead following the outbreak of a cholera epidemic that has hit the East African country.

According to WHO, the epidemic had spread to 20 of Congo’s 26 provinces with at least 528 people dead after getting infected.

“The risk of spread remains very high towards the Grand Kasai region, where degraded sanitary and security conditions further increase vulnerability in the face of the epidemic,” the WHO said in a statement.

Read also: CONGO DR: 2 more Ebola cases recorded

Reports say the outbreak is even more worrying considering the fact that about 1.4 million people have been displaced by violence in the central Kasai region making it hard to contain the epidemic which has hit at least 10 urban areas including the capital Kinshasa.

Outbreaks of the water-borne disease occur regularly in Congo, mainly due to poor sanitation and a lack of access to clean drinking water.

 

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