From 13 to 26. The number of people suffering from cholera is increasing in Mayotte, according to a new report presented on Sunday by the prefecture and the regional health agency. “In view of the situation, and in order to ensure the care of all sick people, the Regional Health Agency and the Mayotte Hospital Center have taken the decision to open a second cholera unit from today », within the Dzoumogné reference medical center.
The first unit, capable of accommodating a maximum of 14 people within the Mayotte Hospital Center, can no longer accommodate new patients. Pending the arrival of future reinforcements, the Mayotte Hospital Center is concentrating its staff on treatment related to cholera.
A “very critical” situation in terms of human resources
The region actually lacks caregivers. According to Olivier Brahic, director general of the ARS, “the situation at the Mayotte hospital center, in terms of human resources, remains very critical, particularly in the emergency room.”
On Friday, the first three cases of “indigenous” cholera were identified in Koungou, north of Mamoudzou. Until then, ten imported cases had been recorded since mid-March among people arriving in particular from neighboring Comoros. In order to contain and reduce the risk in the commune of Koungou, the Regional Health Agency has strengthened its field interventions and created a screening and guidance center.
Vaccination operations on the ground
“Vaccination operations are also organized on the ground,” specifies the ARS, which is continuing, at the same time, its health raids, in order to ensure wide dissemination of recommendations and to direct people towards vaccination and screening systems. .
“The epidemic is spreading without real control in the neighborhoods of the urban area of Mamoudzou-Koungou which is densely populated, particularly in the slums devoid of the most basic public sanitation,” the LR deputy for Mayotte is alarmed in a press release. , Mansour Kamardine, recalling that “the entire territory of Mayotte is still subject to restrictions on access to running water”. As a reminder, cholera is transmitted through contaminated water or food. The MP requests in particular “a general vaccination plan (voluntary vaccination) accessible to all, particularly children and vulnerable people”.