48 cholera cases confirmed in Somalia: WHO

Saturday May 18, 2019

According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O), the cumulative total number of suspected cholera cases since the beginning of this outbreak in December 2017 is 7235, including 46 associated death cases.

Since the implementation of the Oral Cholera Vaccination (OCV), the outbreak has been contained in several districts in Somalia including Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West State.

W.H.O says that this recent outbreak in Banadir is due to limited access to safe water and sanitation in areas where Internally Displaced People (IDPs) are living.

Cholera is an extremely virulent disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea. It takes between 12 hours and 5 days for a person to show symptoms after ingesting contaminated food or water. Cholera affects both children and adults and can kill within hours if untreated.

WHO continues to provide leadership and support the health authorities and partners in activities to mitigate the outbreak. The disease surveillance system is managed by the electronic Early Warning Alert and Response Network (eEWARN) system with the support of WHO and is currently being expanded to all health facilities across the country. WHO and the Ministry of Health continue to monitor outbreak trends through the eEWARN system and promptly investigate and respond to all alerts.

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