Cholera kills 35 in Congo

KIGALI: At least 35 people have died of cholera in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cases have been reported since Wednesday, an official said Friday.
The most affected areas are about 300 kilometres north-east of the southern city of Lumumbashi, said Nason Kabuya Ndowole, mayor of the town of Goma in the north-east.
The epidemic is thought to have started as a result of people drinking unsafe water from Lake Upemba, he told dpa. More than 90 patients have been admitted to health centres, which eyewitnesses described as overwhelmed with some patients lying on the floor without being attended to.
Ndowole said treatment centres have been set up for those unable to travel. He said authorities were trying to make sure affected people did not travel to areas free of the epidemic.
Since the late 1990s, Congo has been among the countries most affected by cholera. With several armed groups operating in the east of the country, basic health infrastructure is lacking.
The disease had not been reported for a year, and analysts said a death toll of 35 in just three days was high. – dpa