Cyclone crisis Idai deepens with confirmation of first cholera cases in Mozambique | Global development

The first cases of cholera have been reported in the cyclone – ravaged Mozambican city of Beira, complicating an already mbadive and complex emergency situation in the country of southern Africa.

The announcement of five cases of water-borne illness follows the growing fears that cholera and other diseases could be declared in squalid conditions in which tens of thousands of people have been living since the pbading of cyclone Idai on March 14, killing at least 700 people in the region. .

The first cases of the disease were confirmed in Munhava, one of the poorest districts of the port city of Beira, hit hard, told reporters the national director of medical badistance, Ussene Isse. The city of about 500,000 residents is still struggling to provide clean water and sanitation facilities.

"We did the lab tests and can confirm that these five people were tested positive for cholera," Isse said. "It will spread. When you have a case, you should expect more cases in the community. "

The World Health Organization is sending 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine to affected areas, from a global stockpile. The shipment should be sent later this week.

Cyclone Idai crashed in Mozambique around midnight on March 14, before crossing neighboring countries, Zimbabwe and Malawi, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and flooding an area of ​​3,000 square kilometers.

Cholera has been a major concern for cyclone survivors who now live in overcrowded camps, schools, churches and all flood-prone land. The disease is spread through contaminated food and water and can kill quickly.

Last week, The Guardian visited a number of areas, both inside and outside the city, where those who had fled the storm and subsequent floods survived by collecting the rainy day. stagnant water from floods, including puddles of water in the city.

There is also concern that flooding in the countryside may be caused by contaminated wells, which villages rely on for drinking water.

The revelation of the cholera outbreak follows a WHO warning of a "second disaster" if water-borne diseases such as cholera spread in the devastated area.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was due to speak Wednesday afternoon about his government's response to the hurricane, which killed more than 460 people in the country and left 1.8 million people in need.

After flying over the vast flood plains of central Mozambique early last week, Nyusi estimated that 1,000 people had been killed. The balance sheet may be higher, with some emergency responders warning that more bodies will be found as the floodwaters run out. They said that the real figure might never be known.

Health workers opened clinics in Beira, the relief center in the region.

Gert Verdonck, emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières in Beira, stressed: "The magnitude of the extreme damage will likely lead to a dramatic increase in waterborne diseases, skin infections, respiratory tract infections. and malaria days and weeks.

"The hurricane has severely damaged the city's water supply system, preventing many people from having access to safe drinking water. This means that they have no choice but to drink contaminated wells. Some people even drink stagnant water at the side of the road.

"This of course leads to an increase in the number of patients suffering from diarrhea. MSF-supported health centers have seen hundreds of patients with acute watery diarrhea in recent days. "

Unicef, the UN agency for children, said parts of the city's water supply system were functioning again, "water running in 60 percent of the pipes". The government also operates water trucks.

Emergency operators continue to explore ways to provide badistance to the city, which is accessible almost solely by air or sea. It is even more difficult to reach rural communities, some of whom have had no contact with the outside world since the cyclone.

More and more aid workers are arriving as the UN urges the international community to fund an emergency appeal of $ 282 million ($ 213 million) for the next three months.