Mayotte still cannot drink normally. And to the water deficit is now added an epidemic of gastroenteritis made worse by the lack of hygiene, according to the health authorities. The restrictions on access to drinking water – which will be further tightened – “probably result in an intensity and duration of the epidemic [de gastro-entérite] higher than what we observed in previous years,” notes Santé Publique France in a report published Tuesday, which takes stock of the situation as of October 6.
Serious cases
“The epidemic is continuing because there is less hygiene due to the lack of water, people are taking fewer precautions,” underlines Youssouf Hassani, head of the Public Health France unit in Mayotte. The number of cases of acute gastroenteritis actually started to rise again during the last week of September, after two weeks of decline. The public health agency notes a “high level” of visits to emergency rooms for gastroenteritis, “all ages combined”.
“Since the start of the gastroenteritis epidemic, there have been 13 serious cases admitted to intensive care at the Mayotte hospital center,” the report specifies. The share of antidiarrheals and oral rehydration solutions in the sales of pharmacies in the region is higher than the average of previous years, at a level “the highest since the start of the year”, he also indicates.
The risk of epidemics of cholera or typhoid fever
Santé Publique France also monitors possible epidemics of cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and poliomyelitis and warns of “the significant health threat” for a Mahorese population which, “for a majority of them, is in a very precarious situation”. “Due to their mode of transmission and the regular detection of sources of contamination in the territory, these water-borne diseases could be the subject of epidemic outbreaks, due to the water shortage in Mayotte,” warns the agency.
“We know that some patients – the most disadvantaged, who cannot afford to buy bottled water – also drink river water. This is the worst thing, it causes epidemics of typhoid fever in particular,” underlines a nurse from the Mayotte Hospital Center, wishing to remain anonymous. This disease is in fact endemic in the territory. “Last year, we recorded 123 cases. Currently, there are nine,” indicates Youssouf Hassani, head of the France Public Health unit.
New water restrictions
The risks could worsen. Mayotte will indeed experience a new turn of the screw on water distribution. “As of Wednesday, October 11, water tours for two days out of three are maintained but the period of access to water is reduced to 18 hours instead of 24 hours”, to “preserve the reservoirs until mid-November,” the Mayotte prefecture said Monday evening in a press release.
The government announced several measures last Thursday to try to stem the water crisis, in particular by covering the water bills from September to December for the 310,000 inhabitants of this small French archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and the expansion to 110,000 or 120,000 of the number of people benefiting from the distribution of free bottled water.