Maputo, 20 May 2015 - To scale up the cholera response activities in Mozambique, the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and support from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr,b), organized a series of trainings to ensure standardized case management and laboratory diagnosis protocols to reduce mortality and unnecessary deaths from diarrhoeal diseases. 

The purpose of the case management trainings aimed at strengthening disease outbreak management by clinicians (Doctor, Nurse, and clinical officer). This will help to reduce unnecessary morbidity and mortality related to epidemic prone diarrhoeal diseases, strengthen the laboratory surveillance system and build capacity among clinical health workers to effectively manage epidemic prone diarrhoeal diseases specifically patient with cholera, dysentery, and typhoid fever.

The trainings were initiated based on findings of several joint cholera field assessment missions in the different cholera affected areas by MoH, WHO and other partners. The findings revealed some challenges. In  response to the challenges,  activities were initiated including case management; early detection and quick referral, laboratory detection and confirmation of vibrio cholera as well as surveillance; timely reporting for prompt response to and control of the disease amongst others.

To date a total of 62 health professionals at national, provincial and district levels benefited from these trainings. Of the 62 trainees, 52 were trained in case management and 10 microbiologists in laboratory diagnosis and confirmation protocols.

The other series of trainings are planned to take place by June 2015 in Beira, Nampula and Pemba cities. The participants will be from the all central and northern cholera affected provinces. Amongst facilitators three were international diarrhoeal disease experts from icddr,b in Dhaka, Bangladesh namely:

Dr. Azharul Islam Khan, Chief Physician and Head of the Diarrhoeal Disease Unity

Dr Pradip Kumar Bardhan, Chief Physician, in charge of Clinical Services

Dr Mohammad Sirajul Islam, Chief of Laboratory Services

The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr,b) popularly known as “the Cholera Hospital”, is an international health research institution located in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 

From 25 December 2014 to 6 May 2015, the country reported more than 8,700 cases of cholera including 64 deaths, representing 0.74% case fatality rate (CFR) from 6 provinces and 21 districts. Out of the 21 cholera affected districts currently only Mocuba is active notifying few cases. 

WHO supported the affected provinces with technical experts, cholera kits, laboratory reagents and consumables and other medical supplies.

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Para informações adicionais, por favor,  queira contactar : Telefone : 258- 21492733 ou moreirag [at] who.int (moreirag[at]who[dot]int)