Some 1,800 dead from cholera in Ebola-hit DR Congo: WHO
Cholera has killed around 1,800 people so far this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also battling its deadliest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Wednesday that around 1,800 people have died from cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so far this year. The disease has been recorded in 60,000 cases, marking it as the country's worst outbreak in decades. Most of the infections have been detected in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, areas plagued by armed groups and controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.
However, there are now cases in the Congo River basin, which could potentially extend to the capital, Kinshasa. The WHO warned that the ongoing rainy season and limited access in conflict-ridden regions could exacerbate the spread of cholera, already causing a high mortality rate of approximately 3%. The agency emphasized the importance of a campaign to distribute Ebola vaccines, particularly in the conflict-hit eastern region, given the country's dual crisis of Ebola and cholera.
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