BUJUMBURA January 3rd (ABP) – The Minister of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS Dr. Sylvie Nzeyimana released on January 1, 2023, a declaration of the Cholera epidemic in Bujumbura city.
Through this statement, Mrs. Nzeyimana said that as of December 30, 2022, the health district of Bujumbura North notified 9 suspected cases of Cholera with diarrhea and vomiting, from the Bukirasazi district of the Kinama zone. She added that as of December 31, 2022, two other cases were recorded from the Cibitoke zone, Cibitoke and Mutakura districts. A case was notified in the Buyenzi zone, in a subject who had visited one of the patients in the localities mentioned above.
On the samples taken and sent to the INSP laboratory for analysis, the results released on December 31, 2022 confirmed the presence of “Vibrio Cholerae”.
Dr. Nzeyimana also reported that as of January 1, 2023, 5 cases are hospitalized at the cholera treatment center of Prince Régent Charles Hospital for treatment and 7 cases have been discharged cured. The centers of spread are the districts of Bukirasazi I of the Kinama zone, the Cibitoke and Mutakura districts of the Cibitoke zone, the 20th avenue of the Buyenzi zone, she specified.
She took advantage of that opportunity to declare the cholera epidemic in the northern district and the central district of the town hall of Bujumbura and to draw the attention of the public authorities and the Burundians in general and that of the affected areas in particular, to that we can combine efforts to contain and stop the spread of that epidemic in the country.
The Minister of Health recalled that contamination occurs through the consumption of contaminated food or water, while specifying that the spread of the microbe occurs through objects such as the patient’s linen soiled by stools, direct handling of the sick. That potentially epidemic disease is also caused by the lack of drinking water, poor individual and environmental hygiene which results in the consumption of non-potable water and contaminated food.
Dr. Nzeyimana reminded the people in general and those in areas affected by cholera in particular, to observe individual and collective hygiene measures to avoid catching the disease. Those measures include washing hands with clean water and soap before eating, after using the toilet, before breastfeeding, before preparing meals, eating well-cooked food, covering food well and drink clean water.
During the epidemic period, the Minister of Public Health and the Fight against AIDS asks the territorial administration of the areas affected by the epidemic to take substantial measures, in particular, the banning of street trade in cooked foods and those that are eaten raw, to make a special effort to clean up the environment and mobilize the people for the correct use of latrines.
Some emergency measures have already been taken by the ministry, in particular the disinfection of affected households, raising awareness of the population on the risks of spreading the epidemic and the behaviors to adopt, as well as the active search for cases in the community.