Cholera cases increase to 271 in Mozambique's cyclone-hit Beira

Medical staff wait to treat patients at a cholera centre set up in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

MAPUTO (Reuters) - The number of confirmed cases of cholera in Mozambique's cyclone-hit port city of Beira has nearly doubled to 271 in the last 48 hours, the southern African nation's government said on Saturday.

Government and aid workers are seeking to contain the spread of the disease after cyclone Idai smashed into Beira on March 14, unleashing catastrophic flooding and killing more than 700 people in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

At the opening of a temporary treatment center in Beira, Environment Minister Celso Correia said there had been 271 cases of cholera reported. He said 138 of those had arrived at medical centers in the last 48 hours.

Medical staff wait to treat patients at a cholera centre set up in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

"We don't have any deaths registered within our hospitals," Correia said.

On Friday, he said at least two people had died outside hospitals with symptoms including dehydration and diarrhea.

Many areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe that were heavily hit by the storm still cannot be accessed by road.

Medical staff spray disinfectant at a cholera treatment centre set up in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

Cholera is endemic to Mozambique, which has had regular outbreaks over the past five years. About 2,000 people were infected in the last outbreak, which ended in February 2018, according to the WHO.

Mozambican authorities said on Saturday the number of deaths from the cyclone stood at 501, bringing the total of fatalities across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi to 746.

People, moved from school where they were taking refuge, queue to settle at a camp for people displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)

Displaced people arrive at a camp, from a school where they were taking refuge, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Madelana Jose, 71, rests beside her tent at a camp for people displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Alimu, 3, is pictured at a camp for people displaced in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Displaced people arrive at a camp, from a school where they were taking refuge, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Displaced people arrive at a camp, from a school where they were taking refuge, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra