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ESWATINI RECORDS FIRST CHOLERA CASE

By KWANELE SIBIYA | 2023-04-04

The country has recorded its first case of cholera following the worldwide outbreak as reported by the World Health Organisation.

The confirmed case is from a Mozambican patient, who allegedly made it into the country through an informal crossing at Lomahasha.
Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, revealed that there had been a confirmed diagnosis of cholera in one patient in the Manzini Region.

The minister said the diagnosis followed continued surveillance by the ministry of health teams and health facility reports through the integrated disease surveillance and response system and immediate disease notification system.

When giving details of the patient, Nkosi said the patient is a male non-Liswati, who had come into the country from Mozambique to visit relatives on March 27.
She said the patient became ill with diarrhoea and vomitted within two days of his stay in the country (March 27-29).

The minister further stated that the patient upon being presented to the local hospital on March 29 was found to be moderately ill with severe dehydration, wasting and lethargy on admission and was immediately treated.

“The patient is still undergoing treatment at the health facility and reported to be improving,” said the minister.

Nkosi further said upon receiving the notification, the ministry’s regional response team carried out case investigations and contact tracing.

She said the team visited the patient’s place of residence to inform the dwellers and provide health education on how to prevent further spread and how to recognise cholera symptoms.
She added that the ministry’s public health emergency management system had moved to the alert mode for cholera.

The minister mentioned that the public health emergency management core team was continuing to provide guidance on preparedness to diagnose and manage cholera disease in communities and in health facilities.

She added that the ministry was continuing to investigate and identify more cases and advised the nation to call 977 if they notice anyone with severe diarrhoea and vomiting, that was three or more watery stools in 24 hours, diarrhoea that was accompanied by severe weakness and inability to walk, as well as sudden death of a person who had symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.

“The nation is further advised to immediately seek medical attention at a nearby health facility when they experience symptoms of severe diarrhoea,” she said.

Nkosi said to minimise the spread of cholera, the nation was advised to use proper sanitation or toilet facilities, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after using the toilet and before every meal and to boil water for drinking if in doubt of its source.

She said the ministry would keep the nation informed of developments in this regard and requests for co-operation in minimising the spread of cholera.

The WHO has categorised the cholera outbreak in Mozambique as a multi-region Grade 3 public health emergency, requiring a major WHO response.

The Grade 3 categorisation – the highest level within WHO’s grading system – was made considering the scale of the outbreak, the potential for further international spread, the rapidity of spread, and the lack of adequate response capacity.

Low levels of access to safe drinking water and sanitation and hygiene facilities and a fragile surveillance system, are contributing to conditions that drive the spread of the cholera throughout the first quarter of the year.

This after more than a million people across eight provinces of Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Sofala, Tete and Zambezia bear the brunt of the compounding effect of cholera, floods and cyclone Freddy.
Additional information: UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

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