Currently traveling to Mayotte, to monitor the evolution of the cholera epidemic which has been raging on the island for around two months, the Minister responsible for Health Frédéric Valletoux wanted to be reassuring this Friday, May 10, 2024.
Asked about RTL he mentioned a situation ” under control “ with “65 cases” recorded, two days after the death of a three-year-old child.
“Vigilance in other neighborhoods”
The government member mentioned “measures to try to contain” the disease, which currently concerns only one outbreak. There is nevertheless “vigilance in other neighborhoods which could see cholera develop tomorrow, with screening carried out”.
Read also: REPORTING. “Here, the water from the river is used for everything”, in Mayotte, cholera, indicator of poverty
He greeted “the permanent presence of health services, the health reserve, and also associations such as the Red Cross”.
“We will not abandon Mayotte”he promised, referring to “86 reservists who come from France on the ground today”.
“The vaccination strategy is not to vaccinate in all directions”
For cholera, “the vaccination strategy is not to vaccinate in all directions and blindly”added the minister on RTL. “We have stocks. There are around 7,000 vaccines on the island today, 6,000 arriving next week…”he also announced.
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.
Cholera, a bacterial disease, can cause acute diarrhea and lead to death from dehydration within one to three days.
