Mayotte Cholera Epidemic: 1 Tragic Child Lost, 58 Cases

The cholera epidemic in Mayotte, the poorest of the French departments located in the Indian Ocean, has claimed its first victim, a three-year-old child, as announced by the prefecture and the Regional Health Agency on Wednesday, May 8.

“A first child has died today,” they wrote in a joint statement. “The child lived in the Koungou neighborhood where several cases of cholera had been identified in recent weeks.”

This first fatal case comes on the eve of the visit of the French Minister of Health, Frédéric Valletoux, to this island in the Indian Ocean, which has been planned for several days.

The first cases of cholera in Mayotte were recorded in mid-March among people returning from neighboring Comoros, where the epidemic has claimed 98 lives according to the latest official report.

In Mayotte, the first “autochthonous” cases, diagnosed in patients who had not left the French island, appeared at the end of April.

Cholera, a bacterial disease that can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days, is transmitted through contaminated water or food.

There are vaccines and effective treatments available. Since mid-March, 58 cases of cholera have been reported by the authorities in Mayotte, with six active cases in the latest report dated May 6th.

A protocol developed in February to prevent the spread of the disease includes disinfecting the patient’s home, identifying and treating contacts, and implementing a “ring” vaccination strategy, gradually expanding the affected area around the patient’s residence.

Source: Defi Media