NewsDesk @bactiman63

Since the beginning of 2023, a total of 1,800 suspected cases of the typhoid fever epidemic, including 12 deaths, have been notified in the Panzi health zone in Kwango province, DRC media reports.

Salmonella serotype Typhi
Typhoid image/CDC

These figures are made public by the organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) this Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in an information bulletin. This international humanitarian organization specifies that the precarious level of hygiene and the lack of drinking water are at the root of this rise in cases of typhoid fever in this province.

More than 1,800 suspected cases have already been notified and 12 deaths recorded. The lack of drinking water and seasoning infrastructure in the health zone as well as the precarious level of hygiene in the community have led to this outbreak of cases of typhoid fever, some of them with complications“.

According to the same source, a team from Panzi hospital was dispatched to the scene for urgent care against this typhoid fever thanks to the MSF. MSF doctor Mi-José Bolenge noted that his team is in this province to provide medical care for simple cases of typhoid fever in the 7 health zones and certain complicated cases treated.

As for complicated cases, in particular patients who need to be operated on, they are referred and taken care of by MSF at the Panzi general hospital. As of March 13, more than 1,300 patients had been treated and 22 surgical operations carried out

It should be noted that several hygiene committees of the population of Kwango have also been strengthened in capacity by the MSF to prevent this disease of dirty hands.

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