The French Minister of Health is visiting Mayotte between Thursday and Friday. Frédéric Valletoux’s trip comes as the number of confirmed cases of cholera continues to increase in the poorest department in France, where we learned of the death of a 3-year-old child, this Wednesday, May 8, 2024.
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The cholera epidemic in Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean, caused the first death, we learned today. A 3-year-old child, in the commune of Koungou, “ in which several cases of cholera had been identified in recent weeks », Recalls the regional health agency (ARS) and the prefecture in a press release.
The increase in proven cases is increasing tension in Mamoudzou. Around sixty contaminations have already been identified to date, and a third are autochthonous cases, that is to say infections occurring in people who have not traveled to areas where cholera is prevalent, such as on the islands. neighbors of Comoros.
The health authorities want to be optimistic, but the occurrence of an epidemic, a term not yet used locally, is still to be feared in the largest medical desert in France. In fact, Mayotte officially has only 33 general practitioners for 270,000 inhabitants, while the national average is 150 doctors per 100,000 inhabitants.
Despite this low coverage, the Mayotte department is ready, according to the director general of the regional health agency. Local teams are mobilized within two units dedicated to cholera. Around fifty reservist doctors and nurses have already arrived as reinforcements.
Actions to raise awareness and vaccinate residents are also underway. To date, more than 4,000 contact cases have been vaccinated, particularly in slums, more affected than elsewhere by difficulties in accessing drinking water.
Read alsoMayotte: increase in cholera cases, a new medical unit opened