Two people have died of cholera in the West African nation of Senegal’s capital, while 82 others have contracted the waterborne disease, the health minister said on Tuesday.
In comments broadcast on state radio, Issa Mbaye Samb called on Dakar residents to observe basic hygienic practices and urged family members to take those who develop symptoms such as diarrhoea to health centers for treatment.
”Treatment is free, and life can be saved if patients are reported to health centres at an early stage,” Samb said.
The first case was reported in the capital, Dakar, on October 11. No cases have been reported outside the capital yet, Samb said.
Cholera is mainly contracted through people consuming contaminated food or water. Epidemics are linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding inadequate sanitation and unsafe water.
It attacks the intestine and can cause death by severe dehydration resulting from diarrhoea.
The last cholera outbreak in Senegal was in 1996. — Sapa-AP