BUJUMBURA, Dec. 29, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) – At least 45 cholera cases have been
reported in the health district of Rumonge in Rumonge Province, southwestern
Burundi, near Lake Tanganyika, the Burundian health minister said Friday.
The first case of cholera was declared in Rumonge town on Tuesday and was
confirmed by the national reference laboratory located in the capital
Bujumbura, said Thaddee Ndikumana, minister of public health and AIDS
control, at a press conference in Bujumbura.
The first declared case has been cured and left the hospital, said
Ndikumana.
The main causes of cholera are the recent heavy rains that destroyed
latrines in the Rumonge town as well as lack of potable water, he added.
“With the support of partners, we are going to provide clean drinking water
to Rumonge town. I also urge residents in Rumonge as well as in other areas
to abide by hygiene rules,” said the minister.
Residents living near Lake Tanganyika in the province of Rumonge are said
to drink and use the lake water which is unhealthy.