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NAMIBIA: Cholera subsides as gastroenteritis arrives

23 Jan 2007 16:04:01 GMT
Source: IRIN

WINDHOEK, 23 January (IRIN) - An outbreak of cholera has killed three people in Namibia's northwestern region of Kunene, and three other people have died from dehydration caused by gastroenteritis in the same area since early December 2006, according to health workers.

Although the symptoms of cholera and gastroenteritis are similar, stool samples from over 200 patients have been taken for analysis to determine the cause of both illnesses, the Chief Medical Officer of the Kunene Region, Dr Ebong Akpabi, told IRIN.

The main symptom of cholera, a waterborne infection of the bowel caused by drinking water or eating food contaminated by vibrio comma bacteria, is a watery diarrhoea resulting in the depletion of body fluids; if left untreated, the disease can lead to death within 24 hours. Gastroenteritis, inflammation of the stomach and intestines, is also a waterborne illness, caused by unclean water supplies and poor sanitation practices, similarly resulting in chronic diarrhoea.

Akpabi said the gastroenteritis outbreak in the region, which borders Angola, had become a serious problem. It began on 7 December 2006 and by 18 January 2007, 229 cases had been reported at the Opuwo state hospital, about 70km south of the border.

The first patient suffering from gastroenteritis came from Angola and was treated at the border clinic of Otjimuhaka. Akpabi said it was common practice for Angolans living near the border to receive treatment at Namibian clinics, because there were no medical facilities in the Angolan border region.

Dr Norbert Forster, Under-Secretary in the Namibian Health Ministry, said the cholera situation was now under control and fewer cases had been reported this month.

"It came from Angola last October [2006], where cholera is a problem in the Cunene Province of our neighbouring country," he told local media. "We only have about one case reported daily now, quite a bit down from three or four each day in November and December."

Foster said a team of medical experts had been dispatched to the area to assess the situation and educate communities about boiling drinking water, and water purification tablets were being distributed in affected communities.

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Last updated:Tue Jan 23 16:07:00 2007