GUINEA-SIERRA LEONE: Death toll from cholera outbreak rises

Photo: IRIN

DAKAR, 7 September 2004 (IRIN) - The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Guinea and neighbouring Sierra Leone rose to 86 at the end of August, the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported. The Geneva-based Federation said in a statement on Monday that 561 cholera cases and 55 deaths had been recorded in Sierra Leone up to 30 August, giving a death rate of nearly 10 percent. It said the Red Cross was making plans to deal with up to 4,000 cases of the highly infectious disease in the West African country. The Federation said Guinea had reported 333 cases of cholera and 31 deaths up to 31 August, but the situation there seemed to be under control. The disease first appeared in Guinea following exceptionally heavy rainfall during the second half of July. It spread to Sierra Leone shortly afterwards. The cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone is the first to be recorded in the country since 1999, but the Federation noted that no proper contingency planning had been put in place by the government to deal with such an emergency. "The high mortality rate is attributed to overcrowding in shanty towns, the lack of drinking water (people are depending on streams, rainfall and pools of water) and the poor drainage system in the country," it said. The Federation said three cholera treatment centres were now functioning in the capital Freetown, a new one having been set up recently. It said the cholera outbreak in Guinea was concentrated in the capital Conakry and the nearby towns of Coyah, Kindia and Forecariah, all of which lie close to the frontier with Sierra Leone. Cholera epidemics are normally caused by poor sanitation and polluted drinking water and are a perennial hazard during the rainy season in much of West Africa as latrines overflow and wells become polluted. The disease, which causes violent diarrhoea and vomiting leads to rapid dehydration of the body and can prove fatal unless treated quickly.