2024-05-08 19:25:25
A 3-year-old child died of cholera in Mayotte, the regional health agency and the prefecture said in a press release on Wednesday. This is the first death recorded in the territory since the discovery of a first case in mid-March.
Published: 05/08/2024 – 21:25.
1 min
The cholera epidemic in Mayotte caused the first death, a three-year-old child in the municipality of Koungou, the prefecture and the regional health bureau announced on Wednesday, May 8.
“A first child died today,” they wrote in a joint press release. “The child lived in Koungou district where several cases of cholera have been identified in recent weeks.”
This first fatal case comes on the eve of the visit of Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux to this Indian Ocean island, planned for several days.
“Native” cases since the end of April
The first cases of cholera in Mayotte were recorded in mid-March in people returning from The Comoros neighbors, where the epidemic is sky high with 98 deaths, according to the latest official report.
In Mayotte, the first “native” cases, diagnosed in patients who had not left the French island, appeared at the end of April.
Cholera, a bacterial disease that can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days, is transmitted through contaminated water or food. There are effective vaccines and treatments.
Since mid-March, 58 cases of cholera have been recorded by Mahorese authorities, including six active cases at the latest report dated 6 May.
A protocol drawn up in February to prevent the spread of the disease provides for disinfection of the patient’s home, identification and treatment of contact cases and “ring” vaccination, which gradually expands the area around the patient’s home suffering from cholera.
With AFP
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