Maputo — Mozambique's Deputy Minister of Health, Ilesh Jani, has guaranteed that the recent cholera outbreak, in the northern province of Nampula, is now under control, and so does not pose a great danger.

Jani, who was speaking in Maputo on Monday, during the launch of the Immunity and Coverage Survey after the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign in Mozambique (IMUNECOV), said that isolated cases still occur, but teams from various sectors are already on the ground working to prevent new outbreaks.

"The cholera epidemic in Nampula is under control, but we still have some cases and multi-sector teams are working to prevent new outbreaks in the city', Jani said .

The cholera outbreak was declared in five districts of Nampula province, namely: Nacala, Memba, Nampula, Eráti and Meconta. The latter two were recently declared free of the disease.

"In Eráti and Meconta, the situation is stable, as parameters proposed by the World Health Organisation were followed, so that the end of the outbreak can also be declared' he said.

The latest outbreak of cholera has affected over 30,000 people and 141 people have died since the Health Ministry declared the epidemic last September.

As for IMUNECOV, Jani announced that at least 4,700 households in all provinces of the country will be covered by this survey.

In these households, the Ministry of Health expects to cover about 20,000 people, including adults, and children aged between one and 12 years old.

"The Survey aims, firstly, to assess the coverage of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Secondly, it will allow us to understand the current levels of protection of the Mozambican population', he said. "Through this survey, we will collect biological material that will allow us to measure the level of antibodies in the population'.

"We are also going to understand the current number of active COVID-19 infections', he added.