An Angolan health official has said that an outbreak of cholera in one of the most impoverished areas of the capital of Luanda has caused eight deaths from the 40 cases already registered.

Briefing reporters on the epidemic declared Sunday by the World Health Organization and the Angolan authorities, Health Minister Sebastiao Veloso said here on Monday cholera was confined to the Boavista area of the capital overlooking Luanda Bay.

Lack of basic sanitation in this part of the capital and the accidental rupturing of a sewerage pipe by building contractors were the causes of the cholera outbreak, added Veloso.

Due to the poor housing, health and security conditions in Boavista, municipal authorities have relocated some 6,000 families in the district to other suburbs of Luanda in recent months.

Source: Xinhua