France: In Mayotte, a three-year-old child is the first to die of cholera

The cholera epidemic in Mayotte, the poorest of the French departments, located in the Indian Ocean, has caused the first death, a three-year-old child, the prefecture and the Regional Health Agency announced on Wednesday.

“A first child died today,” they wrote in a joint press release. “The child lived in the Koungou district where several cases of cholera had been identified in recent weeks.”

This first fatal case comes on the eve of the visit of the French Minister of Health, Frédéric Valletoux, to this island in the Indian Ocean, planned for several days.

58 cases since March

The first cases of cholera in Mayotte were recorded in mid-March among people returning from neighboring Comoros, where the epidemic is surging with 98 deaths according to the latest official report. In Mayotte, the first “native” cases, diagnosed in patients who had not left the French island, appeared at the end of April.

Cholera, a bacterial disease that can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days, is transmitted through contaminated water or food. There are effective vaccines and treatments. Since mid-March, 58 cases of cholera have been recorded by the Mahorese authorities, including six active cases at the last report dated May 6.

A protocol drawn up in February to prevent the spread of the disease provides for the disinfection of the patient’s home, the identification and treatment of contact cases and “ring” vaccination, gradually expanding the area concerned around the patient’s home. suffering from cholera.

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AFP

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