The current Mozambican cholera outbreak has now spread to the northern port of Nacala. On 6 April, the Nampula provincial health authorities declared a cholera outbreak in Nacala, with one death recorded. "Right now, there is a cholera outbreak in Nacala Port. We have 32 patients hospitalised", the Nampula provincial chief doctor, Celma Xavier, told reporters.
Nampula province as a whole has recorded 157 cases of the disease in the past two weeks, and currently, the Nacala Port general hospital is receiving an average of 15 suspected cholera cases a day.
"Rapid response teams have been activated", said Xavier, and tents have been erected on the hospital grounds, to act as cholera wards.
In addition to Nacala, the Nampula authorities are on the alert in the districts of Malema, Murrupula, Moma and Liupo due to the increase in cases of diarrhoea. It is not yet clear whether any of these cases have been caused by cholera.
According to the Ministry of Health, about 1.2 million people have been vaccinated against cholera in the central provinces of Zambezia, Manica and Sofala. This is around 100 per cent of the target figure for the vaccination campaign.
Since September 2022, 24,516 cases of cholera have been confirmed, of whom 111 have died. This is a lethality rate of 0.45 per cent.
The African Union's Centre for Control and Prevention of Diseases (Africa CDC) on 6 April appealed for support from the international community to combat the cholera outbreaks in Mozambique and Malawi. The health situation in the two countries has deteriorated due to the impacts of tropical cyclone Freddy.
"The health and social infrastructures of Mozambique and Malawi have been damaged", said the acting director of Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell, in an online press conference. "We are appealing to all those with the capacity to help to cooperate with these countries to restore normality".