Ethiopia Declares Another Diarrhoea Outbreak
Ethiopia has declared an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea, also known as AWD, in the country’s Somali region, where people are already struggling to cope with a persistent drought. The World Health Organization said on Friday that 16,000 cases of AWD had been recorded in the region since January.
Ethiopian officials insist on describing the outbreak as one of AWD, not cholera, which has similar symptoms. On Monday, a woman who spoke to the press saying that she had lost five relatives to cholera and that hundreds of people were suffering from the disease was reportedly arrested by Ethiopian authorities. She was released Wednesday.
In neighbouring Somalia, government officials have reported more than 13,000 cases of cholera and 300 deaths since January. WHO said cholera cases were five times greater than what the country experienced last year.
China – Bird Flu
The Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission announced 14 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9), including one death, were recorded from March 31 to April 6.