Makanza (Equateur), 30 August 2016. To halt the spread of epidemic cholera outbreaks in Equateur province, the local authorities are getting support from WHO in their efforts to control the present epidemic in health districts where a large number of cholera cases have been recorded in the last few weeks.

As of 24 August 2016, Equateur province has recorded 1954 suspected cholera cases and 78 fatalities (4.0% case fatality rate).  In this context, a team of WHO experts deployed to Equateur province has conducted a field mission to advocate and raise awareness in Lolanga Mampoko health district, 75 Km north of the city of Mbandaka, the administrative centre for the province. Lolanga Mampoko is one of the most severely affected districts, recording 316 cases and 18 deaths (5.69% case fatality rate) since the start of the epidemic.

The other district visited by the team from WHO and the provincial health authorities is Makanza, 225 km north of Mbandaka, where 517 cases and 17 deaths have been recorded (3.28% case fatality rate) since the current epidemic was declared.

‘‘The experts are visiting these two health districts as part of a joint effort with the district health authorities to organize and implement activities to respond to the cholera epidemic. The resources mobilized by WHO will thus help local authorities to develop a policy and deploy resources to control the disease,’’  says Dr Guy KALAMBAYI, chief of the WHO office in Equateur province.

The WHO support team has worked to strengthen social mobilization and risk communication activities in dealings with officials in Lolanga Mampoko and Makanza health districts, with a view to securing a genuine guarantees from them that the cholera epidemic in their seriously affected districts will be managed effectively.

‘‘The cholera epidemic should not be managed by the health sector alone.  Everyone needs to make an effort, there must be input from other sectors.  Treatment is indicated where prevention has failed.  The best way to control cholera is to raise public awareness by strengthening disease prevention. We are sure that if local authorities could conduct a public information campaign and receive feedback on this activity, the message would be taken to heart,’’ said Dr Valentin MUKINDA, WHO emergency coordinator, at the advocacy meeting with Mr Hénoch MOYA, the district administrator for Makanza.

For his part, Mr MOYA reiterated his personal commitment and that of his entire administration to the campaign to control the epidemic in his district. ‘‘The situation has not been resolved, so we need to unite all our efforts to halt the disease, especially where prevention is concerned,’’  he added.

To make this happen, it has been decided to prepare a contingency plan for epidemic response and to seek support from partners. It is important to remember that control activities in the field are carried out with support from partners, including ADRA which manages patients at the cholera treatment centre, and OXFAM-GB and MSF whose efforts are directed towards raising public awareness.

The joint field team also raised awareness among patients at the cholera treatment unit in Lolanga Mampoko, focusing on hygiene precautions such as washing hands with soap after each visit to the bathroom, environmental sanitation, and using Aquatabs to purify drinking water, thus avoiding contamination in the family circle or among social contacts.

Suspected cases of cholera have been notified in Makanza health district  since March 2016, especially along the river.

‘‘Partner interventions to date have concentrated on patient management, while prevention is still lagging behind and requires ongoing improvement in the field’’, Dr KALAMBAYI says.

Whence the vital need to ‘‘prepare a response plan that gives prominence to awareness-raising, prevention and a commitment on the part of communities and local authorities to effective epidemic control measures’’.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical contacts :

Dr Yokouidé Allarangar, WHO representative in the DRC, tel : +47 241 39005

Dr Dossou Vincent Sodjinou, DRC cholera incident manager, +243 818 456 162 

Media contacts :

Eugene Kabambi, Communications officer, +47 241 39 027 

Hélène Komerwa, Communications consultant, +243 822 815 371

Ebba Kalondo, Communications officer, +243 991 715 425