Maputo — Cholera may have spread to Maputo, according to sources in the municipal health services, cited in a report in Wednesday's issue of the independent daily, "O Pais'.

From the start of the year until last Monday there were 7,600 cases of diarrhoea reported from the Maputo municipal districts of KaChamanculo, KaMaxaquene, KaMavota and KaTembe.

24 of these cases show strong signs of being caused by cholera - 13 in KaTembe, five in KaChamanculo, four in KaMavota and two in KaMaxaquene. The authorities are waiting for laboratory analyses to confirm whether or not these are cases of cholera.

Alice de Abreu, the Maputo municipal councilor for health and social welfare, told reporters "we are recording an increase in the number of cases of diarrhoea suggestive of cholera, but right now we cannot state that it is indeed cholera. To confirm cholera cases, we need the laboratory results'.

Samples had been sent for analysis to the National Health Institute (INS) "and we are waiting for the results', said Abreu.

The 7,600 cases of diarrhoea reported in the city up until Monday compares with 6,700 cases in the same period of 2022. Abreu regarded this as a significant increase. "This is a situation of concern for the entire city', she said.

The recent torrential rains in Maputo, plus defective sanitation and garbage removal favoured the spread of water-borne diseases such as cholera.