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Mozambique Declares End to Cholera Epidemic That Infected Over 2,000


Cholera patients are treated at the Cholera Treatment Center in Tete district,Mozambique, March 5, 2015.
Cholera patients are treated at the Cholera Treatment Center in Tete district,Mozambique, March 5, 2015.

Mozambique has declared an end to a cholera epidemic that was triggered by heavy rains and infected more than 2,000 people, a senior government official said Friday.

The outbreak was another setback for Mozambique, which is grappling with a financial crisis as it strives to woo investors to develop huge offshore gas reserves.

"The epidemic is under control: In the last 28 to 29 days, we have not registered new cases of cholera and so we are declaring the epidemic terminated," Francisco Mbofana, national director of public health, told a news conference.

Five cholera treatment centers installed in the most affected provinces have already been dismantled, Mbofana said.

Four people died between Jan. 5 and April 22 out of the 2,131 cases registered by health authorities. Last year, in the same period, 103 people died of cholera across the country.

Cholera causes severe vomiting and diarrhea and is often lethal if not treated swiftly.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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