Cholera death toll rises to 53 in Mozambique

MAPUTO, Nov. 12 (Chinese media) -- The number of deaths from

cholera in the district of Guro in the central Mozambican province of Manica has

risen to 53, out of 180 cases notified, since the outbreak of the disease about

two weeks ago, AIM reported on Wednesday.

Chinda, 180 kilometers north of Guro town, is the

most severely affected area, with 48 of the known deaths.

According to the state news agency, the death toll

was so high in Chinda because the area is dominated by a religious sect, the

Johan Marangue Church, which forbids its believers from using modern medicine.

Members of this church obstructed the initial work of

health brigades in Chinda, and have also refused to support the national

sanitation campaign launched a few months ago by President Armando Guebuza.

The majority of the dead were members of this church.

The local health authorities describe the current

situation as stable, since no further cases have been reported since Monday, but

they are still maintaining the maximum alert recently decreed, and the cholera

treatment center is still open.

Meanwhile, one cholera death has been reported from

the western city of Tete where at least 83 cases were notified, from the Filipe

Samuel Magaia and Sansao Muthemba neighborhoods.

Tete provincial health Director Luisa Cumba said that

the Tete Cholera Treatment Centre has also been receiving patients with diarrhea

and vomiting since last week, from the rural districts of Chiuta and Machanga.