Over 500 dead as Congo's cholera epidemic spreads: WHO - Action News
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Over 500 dead as Congo's cholera epidemic spreads: WHO

More than 500 people have died so far in a cholera epidemic that is sweeping Congo, the World Health Organization says.

WHO said at least 528 people had died and the epidemic had spread to 20 of Congo's 26 provinces.

A scanning electron microscopic image depicts two Vibrio cholerae bacteria as they were about to separate after having undergone cellular division. (Janice Haney Carr/CDC)

More than 500 people have diedso far in a cholera epidemic that is sweeping Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Outbreaks of the water-borne disease occur regularly inCongo, mainly due to poor sanitation and a lack of access toclean drinking water.

But this year's epidemic, which has already hit at least 10urban areas including the capital Kinshasa, is particularlyworrying as it comes as about 1.4 million people have beendisplaced by violence in the central Kasai region.

This graphic, created for CBC News, illustrates that cholera is transmitted when Vibrio cholerae, the cholera bacterium, enters the human body through contaminated water. The bacteria release toxins, which prevent human intestines from absorbing water. Diarhhea and dehydration result, and if left untreated, the infection can be fatal. (Corinne Rikkelman for CBC News)


The WHO said at least 528 people had died and the epidemichad spread to 20 of Congo's 26 provinces.

"The risk of spread remains very high towards the GrandKasai region, where degraded sanitary and security conditionsfurther increase vulnerability in the face of the epidemic," theWHO said in a statement.

So far, health officials have recorded more than 24,000suspected cases of the disease across the vast nation this year,averaging more than 1,500 new cases per week since the end ofJuly.

The WHO sent a team of experts including epidemiologists andpublic health specialists to Congo this month in an effort tocontain the disease's spread.