Cholera vaccination drive starts in Mozambique

(3 Apr 2019) Efforts to vaccinate nearly 900,000 survivors of Cyclone Idai against cholera began in earnest on Wednesday as huge queues formed in the Mozambique city of Beira.
Beira's Mayor Daviz Simango was among those who swallowed the oral vaccine.
The Indian Ocean port city is where most of the more than 1,400 cases of cholera have been reported since the outbreak was declared a week ago.
Mozambican authorities have reported two deaths so far from the acute diarrhoeal disease, which can kill within hours if not properly treated.
Cases also have been confirmed in some outlying communities and vaccinations will begin there on Thursday.
Overall the campaign aims to vaccinate some 884,000 people in Beira, Dondo, Nhamatanda and Buzi.
More than 100,000 survivors of Cyclone Idai are still living in displacement camps with little access to clean water or sanitation, and the World Health Organization has warned of a "second disaster" if waterborne diseases such as cholera and malaria spread.
Already the number of cholera cases is more than double the 500 beds set up for patients in Beira - the centre of relief efforts for central Mozambique.
Cholera is spread by contaminated food and water and is endemic in the region.
The overall death toll from the cyclone is now 598 in Mozambique, with more than 300 deaths in neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi.

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