WINDHOEK – The cholera outbreak in the Kunene Region in north-western Namibia, has been brought under control.
However, health officials remain in the field to ensure that all emerging new cases are being attended to and referred to health facilities for early treatment. To date a total of 485 cholera cases were treated at health facilities, while only 15 deaths were reported. One patient is currently receiving treatment in the Opuwo District Hospital, according to a statement issued yesterday by the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
“The situation has really improved. There are no new deaths reported, but our officials remain in the field to monitor the situation,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Esther Paulus said. Since the start of the outbreak in November 2013, a total of 7 deaths and 138 cases have been reported, giving a case fatality rate of 5 percent, with the majority of cases having occurred since the end of December 2013.
In response, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Namibian Red Cross Society and regional health staff together with World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) officials have been deployed to the affected area.
The drought experienced in most parts of Namibia contributed significantly to the cholera outbreak in the region. This was reported last month by Dr Myo Zin Nyunt of Unicef responsible for maternal, child survival and development. Nyunt said Unicef has been anticipating cholera in the Kunene Region before the outbreak, because people in that region have been drinking unclean water due to the drought and based on the agency’s experience a cholera outbreak in that region was highly likely. Apart from the fact that there appears to be a dormant cholera virus in that region, other challenges that make the region more prone to cholera, include the lack of sanitation, the drying up of wells and boreholes and the general lack of hygiene. Some of the areas where people live in the region are also not accessible by road.
Nyunt explained that most people in the region still use the bush to relieve themselves and this contributes immensely to poor hygiene. The fact that the region has not received rain in a while and that boreholes and wells have dried up has forced many people in the region to consume unclean water.
By Albertina Nakale