Mozambique Recorded The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that cases of cholera have increased in the past few weeks, even as several other African countries have reported declines.
The country has received approval for an additional 1.3 million cholera vaccine doses to help control the spread, the agency said, but the vaccine shortage still has to be addressed.
Mozambique’s neighbor Malawi, which is battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, was now seeing a steady decline in cases and deaths, said WHO official and epidemiologist Dr Otim Ramadan.
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Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are also responding to cholera outbreaks.
Eliza Tangwe, 18, receives a dose of oral cholera vaccine in response to the latest outbreak of cholera in Blantyre, Malawi, on November 16, 2022. (Reuters/Eldson Chagra)
Progress made in reducing disease transmission in Malawi over the past four weeks could be quickly reversed due to the severe devastation wrought by Tropical Storm Freddie, Ramadan warned.
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Overall, cholera cases and deaths have decreased in Africa in recent weeks.
So far this year, more than 40,000 cases have been reported in Africa, with Malawi accounting for more than half and Mozambique accounting for nearly 15%, the WHO reported.
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Agency officials warned that the number of cases could be much higher by the end of the second quarter if a comprehensive response is not taken to prevent further spread of the disease.