There have been five confirmed cases of cholera in Mozambique in the wake of a powerful tropical cyclone, a senior Mozambican health official said on Wednesday, adding that the disease would spread.
Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique around midnight on March 14 before tearing through neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. The relief focus has increasingly turned to preventing or containing what many believe will be inevitable outbreaks of diseases like malaria and cholera.
The official, Ussein Isse, said Health officials are also battling 2,700 cases of acute watery diarrhea, which could be a symptom of cholera. The World Health Organization is dispatching 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine to affected areas from a global stockpile. The shipment is expected to be sent later this week.
The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Idai has risen to 468, a Mozambican disaster management official said. That takes the total number of deaths in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi above 700 people, with many more missing.
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