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Cholera outbreak claims lives of 29 Burundian refugees: UNHCR

Xinhua, May 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday reported that a cholera epidemic in Tanzania's lakeside Kagunga area has killed 29 Burundian refugees and two local people.

UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said the epidemic had become "a new, worrying, and growing additional complication" at a time when thousands of Burundians had fled to neighboring countries to escape violence linked to the coming presidential election.

"The deaths have been in the port town of Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika, in the nearby villages of Kagunga and Nyarugusu, and among people being transported by ferry from Kagunga to Kigoma," Edwards said in a press conference.

"To date, some 3,000 cases have been reported, and numbers are increasing at 300 to 400 new cases per day, particularly in Kagunga and nearby areas. At this rate, further cases can be expected over the next days and until the situation can be brought under control," he added.

The spokesman said preventive safeguard measures to provide clean water and sanitation were essential, and the first two days of medical treatment were especially important to rehydrate people.

Cholera is transmitted through drinking contaminated water. The overcrowded and unsanitary situation in Kagunga, a remote lakeside village with limited hygiene, and consumption of water from the lake is believed to be the cause. Parts of the area are cholera endemic.

UNHCR is working with the ministry of health to lead a team response to the outbreak with UN and NGO partners, providing emergency health, water and sanitation. This includes additional supplies of safe water, and airlifting medicines, medical supplies, protective gear, water supply equipment and other items for the refugees and government health facilities.

With fears that the number of refugees could double over the next six months, UNHCR and 17 partners are today unveiling a Regional Refugee Response Plan that seeks 207 million U.S. dollars to protect and assist up to 200,000 Burundian refugees in these countries. Endit