BUJUMBURA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Burundian health ministry on Wednesday said 24 cholera cases have been reported in Nyanza-Lac in the southwestern province of Makamba in a period of less than two weeks.
Nyanza-Lac Hospital received 24 patients that had symptoms of cholera from Aug. 18 to 28, 21 of them have been discharged, three patients are still receiving medical treatment, said Thaddee Ndikumana, spokesman of the ministry of health.
According to him, the cholera epidemic in Nyanza-Lac originated from a fisherman who came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) with symptoms of cholera.
Ndikumana indicated that cuts of clean drinking water due to activities of constructing the road linking Nyanza-Lac to Makamba boosted spread of cholera as residents are now drinking "dirty" water from Lake Tanganyika without boiling it.
He said the clean drinking water supplies have been restored, underlining that cholera cases are reducing.
Ndikumana advised residents at Nyanza-Lac to respect hygiene rules to boil water from Lake Tanganyika before using it and to use their latrines.
The Burundian Imbo western lowlands extending from the north in Cibitoke Province to the south in Makamba Province near Lake Tanganyika are vulnerable to cholera every year, especially in September and October.
