Cholera is affecting at least 9 villages in Mindat Township, and 14 people in Paletwa Township have already died from the disease in southern Chin State, prompting the Chin Health Organisation to classify the outbreak as an epidemic on June 16.
Laurence from the Internally Displaced Person Management Committee for Mindat Township said the villages in Mindat, which comprise a population of about 1,000 people, have been placed under lockdown.
However, cholera spreads exclusively through consumption of food or water contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. The disease can proliferate swiftly in regions where sewage and drinking water are inadequately treated. Symptoms can manifest within as little as two hours or take up to five days to appear, and may include fatigue, muscle cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Fatality rates range from 30 to 50 percent without prompt medical intervention, but with treatment, the fatality rate drops to just 1 percent.
“My family members are suffering from diarrhoea, but it’s not too bad,” Laurence said, remarking that cholera is spreading in villages Taik Nel-10 and in Taik Nel-13 where two seniors have died, but only a few people have contracted it in the other villages. Medicine to treat the disease is urgently needed, he added.
The Chin Health Organisation has advised people to boil water before drinking it and suggested making an oral rehydration solution for those who can’t afford to buy it by mixing a litre of boiled water with 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half teaspoon of salt.
Additionally, it suggested avoiding food or drinks with artificial sweeteners, not consuming food that hasn’t been properly stored, for mothers to only feed their babies breast milk, and for everyone to wash their hands well after using the toilet and before meals.
Anyone suffering from diarrhoea should see a health worker and drink an oral rehydration solution immediately.