The press was invited this Monday, late morning, to the ARS premises to talk about the case of imported cholera, and only on this subject we were informed. Questions related to other health issues concerning the Mahorais were not on the agenda…
Everything is fine, the situation is under control according to the authorities
The acting director of the ARS of Mayotte, Sébastien Delescluse, wanted to be reassuring regarding the detection and identification of this case of imported cholera. “From Saturday, early evening, the health services were responsive and took care of the patient. The epidemiological and environmental investigations that were carried out did not require an alert. From Sunday morning, a field analysis was carried out…”.
According to the first information shared with us by the authorities, the case of imported cholera came from a flight from Africa. “It is a person who arrived by plane from Tanzania,” said the prefect. And to reassure the Mahorese population: “the situation is under control, we are prepared… I am confident, we know how to cope”, assured François-Xavier Bieuville.
No preventive vaccination campaign planned at this stage
-Still according to Sébastien Delescluse, given that this is an imported case of cholera, there is no reason, for the moment, to vaccinate the population, even preventively. Only healthcare workers and contact cases will be. “The case is contained, the investigation is reassuring, there is no active traffic in the territory. For suspected cases, we decommission the home, we carry out an epidemiological investigation, we provide treatment and we vaccinate ‘contact’ people,” he explained. In addition, as of Saturday evening, the CHM reactivated its action plan against cholera by notably increasing its capacity for intervention and vigilance, and a strengthening of health controls at the borders was put in place.
The ARS also reminds the rules of prevention and hygiene, as well as the conduct to follow: “Drink drinking water and wash your hands regularly. If you have severe diarrhea and you are returning from a country where cholera is circulating, call 15! “.
As for the quantity of vaccines available, “there are several hundred in the territory and 10,000 in Reunion”. In addition, mobile medical teams, made up of around ten people, are able to quickly project themselves with the necessary equipment into the territory in contact with the population in the event of suspicion. “These are doctors, nurses, members of NGOs and associations, translators, in order to be able to vaccinate if necessary but also to carry out the necessary investigations and analyses…”, indicated the interim director of the ARS.
B.J.
