Somalia:WHO labels high risk of disease outbreaks in Horn of Africa
Laaska News August 10,2011
GENEVA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — There was a high risk of disease outbreaks in the drought and famine afflicted Horn of Africa (HOA), due to poor access to portable water, overcrowding in camps and malnutrition, the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
WHO had confirmed cholera cases in Somalia, including regions of Mogadishu, Bay, Mudug and Lower Shabelle while dengue fever cases had also been identified in Mogadishu, WHO Spokesperson Tarek Jasarevic told a press conference.
However, no detailed number on the scale of the two diseases was given, though a disease outbreak early warning system has been activated by WTO with the help of its existing polio surveillance network in the region.
WHO had also started to provide emergency medical supplies and assistance with the laboratory analysis of suspected cholera cases in Somalia, the WHO spokesperson said.
Xinhua
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