At least five people have died and 105 been taken ill as a cholera outbreak in the northern part of Burundi’s capital has spread since the middle of the month, a United Nations official said on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Operation in Burundi said 16 new cholera cases were reported on Wednesday, bringing the number infected by the potentially fatal waterborne disease to 105.
About 75% of the cases are in Bujumbura’s northern Kamenge district where the outbreak began, the spokesperson, Isabelle Abric, told reporters, citing statistics from Burundi’s public health ministry and the World Health Organisation.
On Monday, Burundian officials said at least four people in Kamenge have died from cholera since January 13 and that 64 people have been diagnosed with it.
The fifth fatality, that of a 13-year-old girl, was identified in the reports cited by Abric.
Local officials have blamed the outbreak of the waterborne disease, which causes serious diarrhoea and vomiting and can be fatal if not treated, on poor sanitation and stagnant water in the Kavumu slum in Kamenge district.
In a bid to stop the spread of cholera, authorities have closed down many businesses in the area, including roadside fruit and vegetable stands and beer bars. — Sapa-AFP