Luanda, Jan 11 (IANS): Angola's Minister of Health Silvia Lutucuta announced on Saturday that emergency response plans have been activated to address the country's cholera outbreak, particularly in Cacuaco Municipality of Luanda province, the epicentre of the disease.
According to Lutucuta, health authorities have enhanced epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, mobilized resources, improved public health communication and ensured better access to safe drinking water.
"Everything we are doing is to fight this disease," she said.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health convened a meeting of the Multisectoral Commission to combat cholera at the General Hospital in Cacuaco.
Adao Silva, Director-General of the Public Water Company, said that 17 community water tanks previously used for drinking water have been cleaned, with their contents analyzed and drained. These tanks are no longer in use to ensure safer water supplies for the affected residents.
The cholera outbreak in Angola has claimed 12 lives and resulted in 119 active cases, according to a bulletin released by the Ministry of Health on Friday evening, Xinhua news agency reported.
Angola's Ministry of Health (MINSA) has updated and activated its national cholera response plan, mobilising medical resources and supplies. Key measures include enhanced epidemiological and laboratory surveillance, community communication initiatives, and water and sanitation interventions, such as distributing calcium hypochlorite and disinfecting and supplying potable water tanks.
The ministry cited challenges in managing the outbreak, particularly poor sanitation in affected areas and the lack of potable water systems in high-risk regions.
Of the 119 cases reported, 53 per cent are female and 47 per cent male. Eleven of the 12 deaths occurred in Cacuaco.
The bulletin defines a cholera case as "a patient with severe or extreme dehydration, or death due to acute watery diarrhea, with or without vomiting, in individuals over the age of two in areas where cholera is present." A confirmed case is "a suspected case where the cholera vibrio has been isolated in stool samples."
A timeline chart in the bulletin indicated cholera symptoms were first observed in a patient on December 31, 2024.