Thirteen suspected cases of Cholera have been recorded in Nyanza-Lac Commune of Makamba southern province of Burundi since 18 August. Nyanza-Lac residents say the lack of clean water for the past two weeks is the main cause of the disease.
Cases of cholera recorded in Nyanza-Lac in 2011
All 13 suspected cases of cholera are receiving treatment in Bukeye Adventist Health Center, said the director of Nyanza-Lac health district, Désiré Nibizi. He also said the situation is stabilized for the moment. “The level of contamination has significantly reduced,” said Nibizi.
Cholera patients come from the localities of Mvugo, Bukeye, Kazirabageni, Nyabutare and Nyanza-Lac urban zone, located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika also bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nyanza-Lac inhabitants say cholera outbreak is due to the recurrent problems of access to drinking water. “We have just spent two weeks without water. We are forced to use water from Lake Tanganyika, “says one inhabitant of Nyanza-Lac.
Nibizi calls on the population to avoid drinking water from Lake Tanganyika without boiling it.
On 22 August, the administration, health services and all water stakeholders held a meeting to solve the problem of water shortage in Nyanza-Lac, the director of Nyanza-Lac health district told Iwacu. “We concluded that all public water taps in Nyanza-Lac will start providing water from this 23 August,” he said.
On 19 August, the acting governor of South Kivu in DRC, Gabriel Kalonda Mbulu declared the cholera epidemic in his province. From January to August 2017, more than 2700 cases were recorded including 22 deaths, he said.
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