Botswana health authorities said Monday that a suspected cholera case reported in Francistown last week has tested negative.
Confirmatory tests at the National Health Laboratory came out negative, said Christopher Nyanga, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, noting that the first rapid diagnostic tests conducted on samples from the patient had come out positive.
The patient, a 65-year-old woman who presented to the clinic with diarrhea and vomiting, has no history of travel outside the country but had contact with an individual with a history of travel from a cholera-endemic country.
“The patient who has been under constant observation is stable,” Nyanga said in a statement.
Botswana has been on high alert after cholera was detected in more than 10 African countries, including in neighboring countries — South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
The authorities are monitoring the situation and implementing control measures, Nyanga said.
Source: Xinhua