More funds are needed to help overcome a major outbreak of cholera in Guinea Bissau, which has killed 201 since May and shows no sign of abating, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Friday.
A total of 12,225 cases have been recorded so far this year and an average of more than 1,000 new cases are being diagnosed every month, said Elizabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
More than 1 million U.S. dollars has been mobilized by the UN system this year to support Guinea Bissau, but more funds are needed, Byrs told a news briefing in Geneva.
According to OCHA, Guinea Bissau is the only country in the region where cholera rates are not decreasing. The cholera rates are decreasing in Senegal, Mali, Benin and Niger.
In 2005, Guinea Bissau recorded one of its most serious epidemics of cholera, with 25,000 cases and 400 deaths.
Cholera is mainly transmitted through contaminated water and food and long-term prevention depends on access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to prevent exposure.
Source:Xinhua
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