The authorities fear the return of cholera to Mayotte after the passage of Cyclone Chido. Guest of RTL this Thursday, December 19, the Minister of Health and Access to Care Geneviève Darrieussecq indicated that the State had made vaccine reserves to deploy them to the population in the event of a resurgence of the disease which is spreading via the consumption of water or food contaminated by a patient’s feces and can cause death from dehydration.
“I am very vigilant about the health state of the population and the risk of epidemics which could unfold,” assured the minister, specifying that she had “made arrangements with the WHO so that they deploy their health monitoring in Mayotte”.
For now, cholera has not been detected in the archipelago since the passage of the cyclone. But the government “wants to be in anticipation”. In addition to the tests and medications that are on site, “10,000 doses of vaccine have been pre-positioned” so that we can vaccinate the population if there was the slightest start” of the disease, announced the minister.
Devastated by winds of more than 220 km/h this weekend, Mayotte, populated by just over 300,000 inhabitants, experienced a cholera epidemic which left five dead between March and July this year. 221 cases of cholera were then recorded, including 14 very serious cases requiring hospitalization in intensive care. No new cases have been reported since last July.
The government specifies that it will adjust its strategy if necessary if the needs arise. “The strategy is not to vaccinate everyone. In the spring, the strategy was to vaccinate people located in high-risk areas. Other doses will be sent according to needs,” said the minister.
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