Mozambique hit by cyclone launches mass vaccination blitz against cholera



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International humanitarian agencies and the Ministry of Health hope to immunize nearly 900,000 people against water-borne bowel disease, which has already killed two people and infected more than 1,400 people.

The target represents about 80 percent of the people affected by the cyclone, said Marie Benigna, deputy director of the ministry of health.

"With this number of people vaccinated, this will significantly reduce the spread of the disease," she said at the launch of the campaign.

Cholera is spread through drinking water or contaminated food and causes acute diarrhea. This is especially dangerous for infants.

Cyclone Idai crashed on the coast of central Mozambique on March 15, causing hurricane force winds and rains that flooded the hinterland and flooded eastern Zimbabwe.

In Mozambique, 598 people were killed and 268 others in Zimbabwe, according to Tuesday's report.

Hundreds of thousands of survivors have been placed in temporary and overcrowded shelters, many of which lack adequate drinking water and sanitation facilities.

The destruction of water supply systems and sanitation infrastructure has created "the ideal conditions for the spread of cholera," said Seth Berkley, CEO of the Gavi Vaccination Alliance, which provided the doses.

"The oral cholera vaccine is a vital emergency measure that will help save lives and halt the spread of this horrible disease," said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) , Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Vaccines will be delivered at health centers, IDP shelters, schools and markets.

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