Recent reports indicate that a fresh cholera outbreak has already killed eight out of 172 people in four regions led by Mara and Morogoro in the number of casualties.
The minister responsible for health, Ummy Mwalimu, issued a statement to the effect that the epidemic had erupted again. One hundred and 72 people had been taken victim of the outbreak between October 31 and November 6, 2016, including four fatal cases in Morogoro alone, according to the minister.
Others include 83 victims in Kilosa, 27 in Tarime, 13 in Rorya, 25 in Dodoma with one death and 21 victims in Buhigwe in Kigoma region as well as three deaths and two patients in Ubungo in Dar es Salaam. The number more than doubled earlier in the week from mere 82 last week.
Early this year, the disease seemed to have been controlled in all regions except for Morogoro and Mara. Between May and September the explosion of the disease was destined to fade where very few patients were reported in a few district councils including Kilosa, Morogoro, Rorya and Tarime.
Cholera statistics indicate that up to November 6, there were a total of 22,990 patients suffering from the outbreak, 355 of whom died.
The cholera epidemic in parts of Africa has been going on for more than 30 years due to inadequate sanitation and poor water treatment systems. Considering how the disease is transmitted and spreads, it is a shame that we should continue to die for less.
Cholera is an acute infectious disease caused by a bacterium, Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae), which usually results in a painless, watery diarrhea in humans. Some affected individuals have copious amounts of diarrhea and develop dehydration so severe it can lead to death.
Most people who get the disease ingest the organisms through food or water sources contaminated with V. cholerae.
The minister said that controlling cholera would be effective through collaborating with local communities and to follow guidelines provided by a competent authority such as councils, regions and the ministry.
But Tanzania is also known for one thing that stymies interventions of any outbreak or disaster, bad data. As a society we have a serious problem when it comes to accurate data, and the problem begins with data collection, analysis and storage.
If at all the figures released by the government are true, then the government will be able to deal with the problem. But if the data is faulty in any way, then the government has its work cut out for it.
Officials will pat each other on the back believing that they have solved the cholera problem while in fact there are more patients just waiting to be ‘discovered’.
What is needed is accurate data, to know how many people exactly have been infected by the disease and where exactly they are located so that no one is left behind when it comes to treatment to prevent recurrence of the problem.
Most importantly however, is the fact that as a people we really need to take personal hygiene and that of the environment we live in seriously. It hurts to note that sane and matured individuals ignore the basic hygiene guidelines at their risk and that of the people around them.
We state again, it is a shame that we should continue to die for less. Cholera shouldn’t even be in our vocabulary.
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