Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
New Era (Windhoek)
February 12, 2007
Posted to the web February 12, 2007
Surihe Gaomas
Windhoek
The fear is that the disease could spread in some of the northern areas of Namibia.
Apart from the outbreak in Angola, the disease has also been reported in Zambia and Zimbabwe where recent rains are said to have worsened the situation.
Since the first cases were reported in Zambia in October, the disease is said to have killed more than 143 people with over 400 cases reported in that country while hundreds have been affected in Zimbabwe.
With recent cases of acute diarrhoeal disease breaking out in Outapi, Opuwo and Ruacana, health authorities are now gearing up to prevent a possible cholera outbreak nationally.
During the period November last year to end of last month, there have been six confirmed cholera cases in Namibia but in all the cases the victims were discharged from hospital after receiving treatment.
In an interview with New Era on Friday, the Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Richard Kamwi said all confirmed cholera cases are said to be imported cases due to the high movement of people across the borders.
"Cholera is acute and we are at risk of an outbreak of cholera. There's an influx of people and we have no control over their movement across our borders. But since we are facing a risk of an outbreak of cholera, we must promptly re-double our efforts," he explained.
So far two people have died of acute diarrhoea or gastroenteritis, namely a schoolboy and an adult, since the first such cases were reported in Namibia last December.
These people, from 11 reported cases, are said to have died from dehydration resulting from severe diarrhoea caused mainly by dirty water and poor sanitation.
Gastroenteritis is acute diarrhoea and the signs and symptoms are painful stomach cramps, watery diarrhoea and vomiting. The condition is so acute that if not attended to as soon as possible can be deadly.
"It's very fast symptoms and a person can die within a couple of hours, so the response must be prompt," said Kamwi, adding that once the bacteria called "vibrio cholerae" starts spreading in the same manner that polio spreads the country stands at risk of a cholera outbreak.
"Vibrio cholerae" is the bacteria responsible for the gastrointestinal disease cholera.
Cholera is mostly caused by a germ invading the bowels and is spread by contaminated water supplies, and similarly diarrhoea is cased by dirty water and improper sanitation.
The diarrhoea or gastroenteritis is reported in local media to have started in early December last year with one case reported at the border post clinic at Otjimuhaka, which serves people from Angola and Namibia.
The gastroenteritis outbreak then rapidly spread to other parts of Kunene and by January 18 this year, over 200 cases were reported to the state hospital at Opuwo.
Later, such cases were detected in Outapi in the Omusati Region as well as Ruacana near the Angolan border.
What made matter worse in Opuwo and Ruacana is that town council authorities had closed down the water supply in these two towns, forcing people to use dirty water from nearby rivers and dams in the area, making them prone to gastroenteritis.
However, as a precautionary measure the health ministry has stepped up its logistical and facilitating strategy ever since these cases arose especially in the north by setting up a 24-hour health care centre/tent at Ruacana for any sick patients from that area.
"Health personnel are ready with the medical equipment and IV fluids to deal with cases promptly as soon as they get diagnosed," added Kamwi.
It is also apparent that due to the latest rainy season, large parts of the Southern African region are also gripped by cholera.
Recent international media reports claim that in Angola a cholera epidemic, the worst of its kind in that country, has now killed more than 1 200 people in the past three months.
"About 35 000 people have fallen ill, half of them in the capital Luanda," said aid group Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the World Health Organisation.
MSF said between 500 and 700 new cholera cases and an average of 10 deaths are being seen every day mainly due to the free movement of people.
Fifteen of the 18 provinces in Angola are affected by the spread of cholera.
With heavy rains, countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe are in a similar predicament.
However, for Namibia, mitigating the effects of the cholera disease is said to be under control. All logistics are in place, while specimens from all gastroenteritis cases reported at the various hospitals in the north have been taken for lab testing and results are expected to be released tomorrow.
February 12, 2007
Posted to the web February 12, 2007
Surihe Gaomas
Windhoek
Health authorities in northern Namibia are on high alert for fear of a cholera outbreak following cases of cholera in neighbouring countries, particularly in Angola, where more than 1 200 people have died in the past three months.
The fear is that the disease could spread in some of the northern areas of Namibia.
Apart from the outbreak in Angola, the disease has also been reported in Zambia and Zimbabwe where recent rains are said to have worsened the situation.
Since the first cases were reported in Zambia in October, the disease is said to have killed more than 143 people with over 400 cases reported in that country while hundreds have been affected in Zimbabwe.
With recent cases of acute diarrhoeal disease breaking out in Outapi, Opuwo and Ruacana, health authorities are now gearing up to prevent a possible cholera outbreak nationally.
During the period November last year to end of last month, there have been six confirmed cholera cases in Namibia but in all the cases the victims were discharged from hospital after receiving treatment.
In an interview with New Era on Friday, the Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Richard Kamwi said all confirmed cholera cases are said to be imported cases due to the high movement of people across the borders.
"Cholera is acute and we are at risk of an outbreak of cholera. There's an influx of people and we have no control over their movement across our borders. But since we are facing a risk of an outbreak of cholera, we must promptly re-double our efforts," he explained.
So far two people have died of acute diarrhoea or gastroenteritis, namely a schoolboy and an adult, since the first such cases were reported in Namibia last December.
These people, from 11 reported cases, are said to have died from dehydration resulting from severe diarrhoea caused mainly by dirty water and poor sanitation.
Gastroenteritis is acute diarrhoea and the signs and symptoms are painful stomach cramps, watery diarrhoea and vomiting. The condition is so acute that if not attended to as soon as possible can be deadly.
"It's very fast symptoms and a person can die within a couple of hours, so the response must be prompt," said Kamwi, adding that once the bacteria called "vibrio cholerae" starts spreading in the same manner that polio spreads the country stands at risk of a cholera outbreak.
"Vibrio cholerae" is the bacteria responsible for the gastrointestinal disease cholera.
Cholera is mostly caused by a germ invading the bowels and is spread by contaminated water supplies, and similarly diarrhoea is cased by dirty water and improper sanitation.
The diarrhoea or gastroenteritis is reported in local media to have started in early December last year with one case reported at the border post clinic at Otjimuhaka, which serves people from Angola and Namibia.
The gastroenteritis outbreak then rapidly spread to other parts of Kunene and by January 18 this year, over 200 cases were reported to the state hospital at Opuwo.
Later, such cases were detected in Outapi in the Omusati Region as well as Ruacana near the Angolan border.
What made matter worse in Opuwo and Ruacana is that town council authorities had closed down the water supply in these two towns, forcing people to use dirty water from nearby rivers and dams in the area, making them prone to gastroenteritis.
However, as a precautionary measure the health ministry has stepped up its logistical and facilitating strategy ever since these cases arose especially in the north by setting up a 24-hour health care centre/tent at Ruacana for any sick patients from that area.
"Health personnel are ready with the medical equipment and IV fluids to deal with cases promptly as soon as they get diagnosed," added Kamwi.
It is also apparent that due to the latest rainy season, large parts of the Southern African region are also gripped by cholera.
Recent international media reports claim that in Angola a cholera epidemic, the worst of its kind in that country, has now killed more than 1 200 people in the past three months.
"About 35 000 people have fallen ill, half of them in the capital Luanda," said aid group Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the World Health Organisation.
MSF said between 500 and 700 new cholera cases and an average of 10 deaths are being seen every day mainly due to the free movement of people.
Fifteen of the 18 provinces in Angola are affected by the spread of cholera.
With heavy rains, countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe are in a similar predicament.
However, for Namibia, mitigating the effects of the cholera disease is said to be under control. All logistics are in place, while specimens from all gastroenteritis cases reported at the various hospitals in the north have been taken for lab testing and results are expected to be released tomorrow.