Dec 8 (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling its worst cholera outbreak in 25 years which has killed almost 2,000 people since January, the U.N. children’s agency said on Monday.

In one case, a quarter of the children in a Kinshasa orphanage – 16 out of 62 – died days after the disease swept through, UNICEF added.

“Congolese children should not be so gravely affected by what is a wholly preventable disease,” UNICEF spokesperson John Agbor said.

Cholera is a severe and potentially fatal diarrhoeal disease that spreads quickly when sewage and drinking water are not adequately treated.

African health authorities last month raised the alarm over a surge in the disease in Angola, Burundi and other parts of the continent, with an overall 30% increase on cases recorded l

See Full Page