why is this disease developing in Mayotte?

Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux is expected Thursday May 9 in Mayotte where cases of cholera are increasing. A three-year-old child died due to the disease. He lived in the commune of Koungou where several cases of cholera have been identified in recent weeks. This is the first death recorded in Mayotte since the disease was detected on the archipelago in mid-March.

This epidemic focus was initially created around cases from the neighboring archipelago of the Comoros where the epidemic is flaring and has already caused 98 deaths. At the beginning of April, in Mayotte, health authorities then detected the first three “native” cases. That is to say diagnosed in patients who have not left Mayotte. The toll now stands at 58 cases and one death as well as more than 4,000 contact cases, already vaccinated.

Cholera is a treatable disease, but it is not yet a disease of the past. According to the latest figures from the WHO, this disease affects three million people worldwide each year, and causes more than 95,000 deaths. Cholera, caused by bacteria, causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, which can lead to severe dehydration and potentially death within a few days. Water losses can in fact reach 15 liters in 24 hours. Treatment mainly involves rehydrating patients orally or intravenously, but it must start on time.

Valuable vaccines to manage the emergency

Although vaccines exist, they cannot eradicate this disease. A patient can harbor this bacteria without triggering symptoms. In fact, they only appear in one case out of four. In the absence of a sanitation or hygiene system, it is difficult to stop the spread of this disease, when it is not diagnosed. There are indeed two types of oral vaccines, which are very valuable in emergency vaccination campaigns, as currently, but their stocks are limited and this vaccination does not induce long-term protection. Protection only lasts a maximum of three years with two doses, hence the importance of continuing epidemic surveillance around the world.

Currently, more than 20 countries are reporting cholera outbreaks. Climate change doesn’t help anything. On Wednesday, the UN expressed its concern after the appearance of dozens of cases in Kenya, a country hit for several weeks by intense rains.