Cyclone Idai: First cholera death in Mozambique



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Women walk pasted by John Segredo north of Beira, Mozambique, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai, March 24, 2019

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Reuters

Image caption

Women walk past flattened crops north of Beira

The first death of cholera has been confirmed in the cyclone-hit port city of Beira, with cases of the disease almost doubling in Mozambique in the past 24 hours, health officials say.

Cyclone Idai, which hit on March 14, caused massive flooding and killed more than 700 people across southern Africa.

More than 500 cases of cholera have been reported in Beira.

Aid efforts in Mozambique are now focused on containing the disease, with a large vaccination campaign under way.

Some 517 cases of the disease had been reported by the United States.

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Reuters

Image caption

Medical staff wait to treat patients at a cholera center set up in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that at least 900,000 doses would be arriving in the port city this week.

BBC's Southern Africa online match Pumza Fihlani.

  • Cyclone Idai: What are the dangers?
  • Was southern Africa prepared for Cyclone Idai?

Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced following the cyclone – exposed to unhygienic conditions.

Cholera is spread through human waste in the water supply.

The flood is itself not the primary risk. Instead, the risk comes from the existing drinking water supplies having been damaged by the flooding.

Some 518 people have been confirmed by the Mozambique National Disaster Management Institute (INGC).

  • 'We saw 200 bodies by the roadside'
  • Maps reveal Cyclone Idai's destruction

Some 1.8 million people are said to be affected by southern Africa, with no electricity or areas where they have been swept away and roads destroyed by the floods.

Cyclone Idai made landfall near Beira, a city of 500,000 people, with 177km / h (106mph) winds.

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Media caption'It has become an inland sea'

Mozambique is said to have the brunt of flooding from rivers that flow from neighboring countries.

Nearly 90,000 Mozambicans are thought to be sheltering in temporary sites.

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