AFRICA/CONGO - Outbreaks of cholera and measles within 500 km

Brazzaville (Agenzia Fides) - The health authorities of the Republic of Congo have recorded 340 cases of cholera, nine of them fatal, since June 2011, in the northern district of Likouala. They also launched the alarm of a further spread and on the instability concerning the medical care of some health centers. Some deaths and suspected cases were not confirmed because of the remoteness of their locations. The epidemic has hit an area with a radius of 500km from Betou to Liranga, including the main town of the department, Impofondo. Moreover, in Brazzaville, in the last two weeks 200 cases of measles have been recorded, including 2 fatal, while between December 2010 and June 2011, there were 800 more recorded cases, of which 32 lethal, in the southern region of Pointe-Noire . (AP) (Agenzia Fides 22/2/2012)