France sends doctors to tackle Mayotte cholera outbreak

France has sent 18 more doctors and nurses to its Indian Ocean island of Mayotte to help contain a cholera outbreak, the Health Minister Frederic Valletoux announced on Wednesday.

Authorities on the island last week said they had identified 26 cases of cholera. Valletoux visited Mayotte from 9th to 10th May.

The extra medical staff will join 49 reservists already working on Mayotte to help tackle the outbreak. After patient numbers doubled in 48 hours, the medical staffing situation at the Mayotte main hospital was "highly critical", said the head of the island's ARS health authority.