Cholera outbreak spreads in Congo DR, death toll hits 528

As violence persist in central Kasai region, Democratic Republic of Congo, displacing  1.4 million residents, no fewer than 528 persons have died following outbreak of cholera in the country.

Sources said that outbreaks of the water-borne disease occur regularly in Congo, mainly due to poor sanitation and a lack of access to potable water in the country.

But this year’s epidemic, which has already hit at least 10 urban areas including the capital Kinshasa, is particularly worrying as it comes when millions of citizens have been displaced by violence.

Confirming number of deaths recorded, World Health Organization (WHO) said at least 528 people had died and the epidemic had spread to 20 of Congo’s 26 provinces.

“The risk of spread remains very high towards the Grand Kasai region, where degraded sanitary and security conditions further increase vulnerability in the face of the epidemic,” the WHO said in a statement.

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

The WHO sent a team of experts including epidemiologists and public health specialists to Congo this month in an effort to contain the disease’s spread.