The French Indian Ocean Island of Mayotte, located off the coast of Paris, on Friday reported that they are battling a severe cholera outbreak, with approximately 200 reported cases.
According to France’s SPF public health agency reports in its weekly update, “As of June 18, 2024, 193 cases of cholera have been reported in Mayotte.”
Cholera is an infectious disease typically causing severe diarrhoea, vomiting and muscle cramps. It spreads easily in unsanitary conditions.
Mayotte, which is home to around 320,000 people, reported its first locally acquired cases of cholera in late April.
Two people have died since the beginning of the epidemic, one of them a three-year-old girl.
SPF warned there was a particularly high risk of transmission in disadvantaged neighbourhoods “as long as access to drinking water and sanitation is unsatisfactory”.
French authorities have been criticised for failing to secure access to drinking water to prevent a cholera epidemic in its overseas territory.
President Emmanuel Macron called for cholera to be “consigned to the past” when he hosted a summit on Thursday on vaccine production in Africa.
Many parts of Africa have recently seen fatal outbreaks of cholera, which has highlighted the shortage of local vaccine production.
A report published by Comoros local authorities disclosed that 134 deaths and more than 8,700 cholera cases, has been recorded.
Like in France, a cholera outbreak in Nigeria has prompted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and several state governments to put citizens and school heads on high alert.
The NCDC has issued warnings about the spread of the disease, emphasising the importance of maintaining strict hygiene practices and ensuring access to Clean water.
AFP
