The regional health agency (ARS) of Mayotte has identified “a case of cholera imported on a flight from continental Africa”she indicated this Sunday, January 19, in a joint press release with the prefecture. “The patient was treated quickly and safely at the Mayotte hospital center (CHM) a few hours after his arrival in Mayotte in order to stabilize his state of health,” write the authorities who deployed a « plan d’action » developed in 2024 in order to limit the spread of the disease in the department.
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Disinfection and vaccination
A team interviewed the patient on Saturday evening to understand how he had been infected, and identify his contact cases or people who may have been infected at the same time.
Sunday morning, “a team was deployed to the housing area of the case in order to continue epidemiological investigations, disinfect the home, conduct environmental analyzes and disseminate health recommendations to people in the neighborhood”.
A preventive vaccination campaign was also carried out around the patient’s living area.
-Call for vigilance
The authorities are calling on the population to be very vigilant, “observe hygiene measures (consumption of controlled water, hand washing) to avoid any acquisition or transmission of the disease” and, in the event of acute watery diarrhea and traveling to an area where cholera is circulating, to isolate yourself, hydrate with drinking water and report immediately to 15.
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The island is just emerging from a cholera epidemic which, between March and July 2024, affected 221 people and led to the death of at least 5 patients. The health system was very affected by the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido on December 14, the sometimes difficult access to drinking water and the degraded wastewater network pose the risk of a resurgence of the disease.
Health
