Cholera kills 1,109 as disease spreads in Angola

The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Angola has hit 1,109 and the disease has spread to another province, officials said today.

Almost 100 delegates attended a meeting of national health authorities in the capital Luanda to consider the latest report on the outbreak, which said that more than 27,700 people have been sickened by the disease in 11 of the country’s 18 provinces.

The fatality rate of about 4 per cent is far above the 1 per cent which the World Health Organisation considers an average for cholera.

Deputy Health Minister Jose Van Dunem said the government’s emergency plans estimate up to 250,000 people will fall ill before the disease is brought under control, due to squalid living conditions and cultural attitudes towards cleanliness.