On Friday, the regional health agency (ARS) of Mayotte announced that it had identified the first three cases of “indigenous” cholera. Since mid-March, ten imported cases of this disease have been recorded among migrants, particularly from the neighboring Comoros. The three people concerned are a woman, a man and an infant, with no biological link between them.
These cases, the first to result from internal contamination in the Indian Ocean department, were “identified in the commune of Koungou” north of Mamoudzou, said Olivier Brahic, director general of the ARS during a conference. Press. He specified that “the most likely” was that these patients were contaminated by “a sick person [qui] did not report to the Samu.”
A situation to follow “closely”
“We must monitor this situation closely, we are in the process of putting in place measures to identify contacts, put them on antibiotics and we are organizing the vaccination of the inhabitants of this area,” added Olivier Brahic. At the same time, a screening center will be opened on site and 20 doctors and nurses will arrive as reinforcements on Saturday in Mayotte.
Before these three cases, ten had been confirmed in Mayotte since March 18, but all imported, most of them on people coming from neighboring Comoros where an epidemic has been raging since the beginning of the year and through which many migrants from of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cholera is an acute form of diarrhea that can kill within hours and is contracted by bacteria usually transmitted through contaminated water or food. In February, the ARS presented a response plan in the event of the disease being introduced into the overseas department.
Health controls at borders and field interventions have been strengthened and a secure hospital care circuit has been set up.