31 March 2019 – The Ministry of Health of Somalia has announced 40 new suspected cases of cholera, with no deaths, for epidemiological week 13 (25 to 31 March) in 2019. No suspected cholera cases were reported between epidemiological weeks 1 and 7 due to closure of the main cholera treatment center in Banadir region, although the outbreak was still active in some districts.. The cumulative total number of suspected cholera cases since the beginning of this outbreak in December 2017 is 7 005, including 46 associated death cases. During this reporting period, all of the cases were reported from 10 out of 17 districts in Banadir region, with Hodan (695), Daynile (591) and Madina (564) are the most affected districts. Of the 40 cases reported during week 13, 45% of the cases (18) are children below 5 years of age.
The cholera outbreak has been contained in the districts of Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West States following implementation of control and preventive measures in these areas. However, active transmission are still being reported in 10 districts of the Banadir region (Darkenly, Daynile, Hodan, Madina, Abdiaziz, Hamarjabjab, Howlwadag, Kaaran, Wardigley Waberi and Shangani).
Since the beginning of 2019, 103 stool samples have been collected and tested in the National Public Heatlh Laboratory in Mogadishu. During this reporting period, 09 cases were confirmed for Vibrio cholerae, serotype O1 Ogawa by culture.
WHO continues to provide leadership and support to the health authorities and partners to scale up the activities to mitigate the impact of the cholera outbreak. The disease surveillance system is managed through the Electronic Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) system with the support of WHO and is currently being expanded to all health facilities across the country. WHO and the Ministry of Health continue to monitor outbreak trends through the EWARN system and promptly investigate and respond to all alerts. The Ministry of Health is planning to implement OCV campaigns in ten districts within Mogadishu and surrounding areas.
