At least 3,000 cases of cholera have been reported in Tanzania since last week and the outbreak has claimed 31 lives.

Thousands of Burundian refugees have crossed into Tanzania during nearly a month of political unrest [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]

Kigoma: The cholera epidemic in the remote Tanzanian fishing village of Kagunga where about 50,000 refugees are still stranded on the shore of Lake Tanganyika is worsening, the UN refugee agency has said.

At least 3,000 cases of cholera have been reported since last week and the outbreak has claimed 31 lives to date.

The UNHCR said on Friday the cholera outbreak had become “a new, worrying, and growing additional complication” for the tens of thousands of refugees seeking refuge in Tanzania.

“At this rate, further cases can be expected over the next days and until the situation can be brought under control,” the agency said in a statement.

The influx of Burundian refugees into Tanzania has been steadily increasing during nearly a month of political unrest and a failed military coup in the East African state.

More than 300 cases of cholera were reported on Thursday across the Lake Tanganyika region and there are concerns the epidemic is yet to peak.

There is still no confirmation of the source of the epidemic, though there is some speculation that refugees carried it across the border, with cases of cholera already been reported in the southern Burundian town of Makamba.

But with the overcrowding and widespread unsanitary conditions in Kagunga, the UNHCR said it was likely the current epidemic was sourced by the lake itself.

Sanitation challenges

On Thursday, the WHO told Al Jazeera the lake was “most certainly” contaminated. Tens of thousands continue to consume water from the lake though the UNHCR together with Tanzanian authorities have arranged up to 8 litres of drinking water per person per day.

“While our priority is to get the refugees out of Kagunga because of the dire situation, we are still working on better access to safe water and promote hygiene there,” Celine Schmitt, UNHCR’s senior regional external relations officer, told Al Jazeera.

Tanzanian authorities also told Al Jazeera that there were moves to build more latrines, in an urgent bid to curb new infections. There were currently just 94 latrines servicing the entire refugee population, with 24 already full.

The UNHCR have supported the transfer of over 15,000 refugees from Kagunga to Nyagurusu near the town of Kasulu. The camp now has 35,000 Burundian refugees, according to the camp’s manager.

Meanwhile the UNHCR said it feared that the number of refugees could double in the next six months because of the continuing political crisis in Burundi.

“We are launching an appeal that aims to protect and assist up to 200,000 refugees in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC,” Schmitt said.

Two Tanzanians have ready died from cholera over the past week and authorities are mindful of the larger implications on the local community if the epidemic is not curbed.

Those suffering from cholera and acute diahorroea are being treated at a set of treatment centres operated by the International Rescue Committee.

The WHO declared cholera a level one emergency in the region on Wednesday, though officials said that case management and awareness could save lives.

“We have enough drugs and we are putting our resources into this and ensuring this does not spread”. Christopher Kamugusha, programme officer for WHO in Tanzania, said.

“The situation can be managed with adequate amount of medication and swift action.” he added.

At least 33 people die amid worsening medical conditions while tens of thousands stranded on Tanzania’s Kagunga Island.

Some refugees have been transferred to Kigoma, where they are processed at the Lake Tanganyika stadium [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

Kigoma: Humanitarian agencies are struggling to cope as tens of thousands of Burundian refugees stranded on Kagunga Island in Tanzania face worsening medical conditions.

UNICEF officials told Al Jazeera on Thursday that conditions at Kagunga were “tough” and that a cholera outbreak had made conditions even more dire.

At least 33 people have died, with 27 deaths believed to have been cholera related.

The World Health Organization declared cholera a level 1 emergency in the region on Wednesday.

“It is very, very tough in Kagunga, and our focus now is to try and save those living in these very poor conditions,” said Thomas Lyimo, a health officer at UNICEF.

More than 100,000 people have crossed into Tanzania since political unrest began in Burundi on April 26.

At last count, some 70,000 refugees were still in Kagunga, waiting to be transferred to the Nyarugusu camp outside Kigoma.

Christopher Kamugusha, programme officer for WHO in Tanzania, said it was now a matter of case management and establishing a treatment centre in Kagunga.

“We have enough drugs and we are putting our resources into this and ensuring this does not spread”.

Authorities say there are just 94 latrines for use by the 70,000 people currently in the fishing village of Kagunga.

The arrival of so many refugees in a village with a population of no more than 11,000 has overburdened every health and social service facility.

“It is better than earlier, and it is in a manageable state, but there is so much to be done,” Lyimo said.

A refugee for 18 years. Returned to Burundi. Trouble starts. Back in Tanzania. daughter dies in camp #BurundiCrisis pic.twitter.com/Ez9cIkywbo

— Azad Essa (@azadessa) May 20, 2015

With just two boats operational, only 2,000 refugees are transferred each day to Kigoma, where they are processed at the Lake Tanganyika stadium in the town.

“Assuming the numbers don’t change in Kagunga, it will take a month to transfer all of them to safety at the camp,” Lyimo said.

But the refugees continue to arrive; at least 150-200 people continue to arrive every day in Kagunga, which is not the only entry point for them.

There are at least five other points but Kagunga is by far the busiest.

Many families have been separated from each other, with some cases of unaccompanied children making their way in to Tanzania.