UN: Over 12,000 cholera cases in Guinea Bissau

24 October 2008

GENEVA – The United Nations says over 12,220 people have been infected with cholera in Guinea-Bissau and 201 have died from the disease.

UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau says the outbreak of cholera in the West African nation has proven exceptionally difficult to control.

Taveau says the capital of Bissau has more than half of the cases, but the disease has spread to all provinces since it started in mid-May.

Taveau said Friday that officials fear the disease could spread further because of an election campaign expected to draw large crowds in unhygienic conditions.

U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs says the United Nations is already spending $1 million to fight the cholera outbreak.

Commentary:
As to this cholera epidemic that it usually is in the water supply, especially if wells or of this nature get’s low and in some cases stagnates; is it possible to purify the water in some manner or supply water until the contamination is resolved.

In the US at one time, American’s use to get this disease and Diphtheria, but nevertheless, it was caused when there use to be dug wells and when the water got low especially in summer; there was at times major epidemics like is being faced in Guinea-Bissau.

As to Diphtheria, some of the symptom’s do reoccur after a person has had the disease throughout the rest of there life, similar to the reoccurrence of malaria.

Mali’s Kolenze Masjid

This is the Kolenze mud mosque in Mali, West Africa.

The mud walls are thick and tapered, to both protect the inside from the heat and support the often two story structures and the roof. During the day, the walls absorb the heat of the day that is released throughout the night, helping the interior of the mosque remain cool all day long.

Some structures, for example, Djenné’s Great Mosque (Masjid), also have roof vents with ceramic caps. These caps, made by the town's women, can be removed at night to ventilate the interior spaces.

Masons have integrated palm wood scaffolding into the building's construction, not as beams, but as permanent scaffolding for the workers who apply plaster annually during the spring festival to restore the mosque. The palm beams also minimize the stress that comes from the extreme temperature and humidity changes typical of the climate.

Men praying in Kolenze mosque (Masjid), in Mali.