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SOMALIA: Cholera hits crowded Mogadishu camps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cholera_bacteria_SEM.jpg
"The number of cases is two or even three times what was there last year so we can say that we have an epidemic of cholera going on," said Michel Yao, who works as a public health advisor in the WHO.
Banadir Hospital, the largest health service in Mogadishu, has reported that over 4,200 people have suffered from acute watery diarrhoea. This symptom of cholera has caused approximately 180 deaths, with laboratory tests showing that 60% of the cases also tested positive for malaria; another big risk. The unsanitary conditions of Mogadishu, that most people are finding themselves in, is a haven for bacteria and viruses, seemingly making more and more people getting affected every day.
Malnutrition is at an all time high, especially amongst children under 5, and this weakened state creates surviving cholera a near impossible task. Indeed, ¾ of the cases are as such, over 1,600 children are stricken with the infection.
WHO spokesman Tarek Jasarevic said: "This sudden increase had various reasons. First, the numerous informal settlements of internally displaced persons with makeshift shelters, poor sanitation and limited access to safe water. Second, the limited capacity of existing health partners to access those informal settlements and provide essential health services. And third, the high number of malnourished children due to the ongoing famine increased the susceptibility to waterborne diseases such as acute watery diarrhoea."
For more information, please read the article found at IRIN
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