07 May 2019 – The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Somalia has announced 36 new suspected cases of cholera, with no deaths, for epidemiological week 17 (22 to 28 April) in 2019. No cases were reported between epidemiological weeks 1 and 7 due to closure of the main cholera treatment center, from which data is collected. MoH has reported 7140 cases and 46 deaths since the beginning of this outbreak in December 2017.

During the reporting period, cases occurred in 11 out of 17 districts in Banadir region, the worst affected district are Hodan (728), Daynile (613) and Madina (595), and 66.66% of the cases (24) are children below 5 years of age.

WHO, MoH and partners have contained the cholera outbreak in the districts of Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West States following implementation of oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaigns and other health interventions. However, active transmission is ongoing in 11 districts in Banadir Darkenly, Daynile, Hodan, Madina, Hamarjabjab, Howlwadag, Bondere, Kahda, Kaaran, Waberi and Warta nabada).

This year, 114 stool samples have been collected and tested in the National Public Health Laboratory in Mogadishu. During this reporting period, 10 cases were confirmed for Vibrio cholerae, serotype O1 Ogawa by culture.

WHO continues to provide leadership and support to health authorities and partners for outbreak mitigating measures. For disease surveillance, WHO supports the electronic Early Warning Alert and Response Network (eEWARN) system which is currently expanding to include all health facilities in Somalia. WHO and MoH continue to monitor outbreak trends via eEWARN, promptly investigating and responding to all alerts.