Maputo — The Mozambican health authorities have intensified cholera testing in patients suffering from diarrhoea in various districts of the central province of Zambézia.

According to Isaías Marcos, head medical officer in Zambézia, from February to the present, the Pinda Cholera Treatment Center, in Pinda town, Morrumbala district, has reported 137 cases of cholera, with with no deaths recorded.

According to Marcos, no new cases have been recorded for more than five days.

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"We have had no new patients registered at the Cholera Treatment Center for more than five days. We continue to develop surveillance actions, both in the communities and in health units, as well as health promotion activities, not only in this district but also in other affected areas,' he said.

The provincial chief medical officer also called on the population for strict compliance with preventive measures, with emphasis on individual and collective hygiene.

"We appeal to the population to continue adopting basic measures to prevent diarrheal diseases, such as washing hands before eating and after using the toilet,' he said.

"It is essential to treat human waste correctly and ensure that the water consumed is boiled or treated with appropriate products', he added. "In case of illness, one should seek the nearest health unit'.

The latest statistics indicate that almost exactly 50 per cent of the cases (1,867) are men, while 1,824 are women. 48 per cent of the patients are over the age of 15, while children under the age of five only account for 25 per cent of cases.

The health authorities are continuing to urge strict observance of individual and collective measures of hygiene, taking particular care to avoid contamination of food and of drinking water.