The death toll in Angola’s cholera epidemic has surged risen to more than 1 700 and the number of cases is over 45 000, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday.
Over the past four months ”Angola has reported a total of 45 133 cumulative cases and 1 727 deaths in 14 out of the 18 provinces”, a WHO statement said.
It said 204 new cases and 10 deaths had been reported between Monday and Tuesday, with the north-eastern Luanda Norte province recording 77 new cases, followed by Luanda at 50 and the south-western Namibe region at 48.
Angola’s current epidemic, one of Africa’s worst, was first detected on February 13.
The highest toll since February was recorded in the eastern coastal province of Benguela, with 502 deaths, followed by 291 fatalities in Luanda and 198 in Malanje.
The deadly but easily treatable water-borne disease broke out in Luanda’s northern slum of Boa Vista and rapidly spread throughout the seaside capital and to other parts of the oil-rich Southern African country.
The spread of the water-borne disease has been exacerbated by poor sanitation, an acute lack of drinking water and inadequate infrastructure.
Angola’s devastating 27-year war, which ended in 2002, wreaked havoc on its infrastructure. — Sapa-AFP