Three die of cholera in the North
The cholera outbreak continues to hit Malawi’s ailing health sector hard with 11 new cases registered in Nkhata Bay District after Karonga, where cumulative cases have risen to 118 as of Friday morning.
So far, three deaths have been recorded in Karonga, with the latest one occurring at Nyungwe on Friday, where a child died in the community before being presented at a health facility.
Spokesperson for Nkhata Bay District Health Office, Christopher Singini, confirmed the development in the district saying they have apparently shifted the isolation camp from the district hospital to the high risk Kandezo Village.
“Mzuzu Central Hospital laboratory confirmed the cholera outbreak in the district from all the samples that we had sent, since then we have had 11 cumulative cases and three of those are still in camp,” Singini said yesterday.
He bemoaned that a majority of fishing villages defy the regular hygiene tendencies hence posing danger of the diarrhoeal infection to people especially this rainy season.
“As a case management strategy, we have taken the camp to the village where we are receiving most cases. At Kandezo we have a huge problem of open defecation,” Singini added.
He said the health education team has intensified sensitisation campaigns on proper hygiene and sanitation.
Karonga District Health Officer (DHO) Lewis Tukula has reiterated on the growing pressure on the medical supplies.
The office, he said, is appealing for support from various stakeholders in order to contain the situation.
“Presently, the outbreak has spread to almost every part of the district. We still have gaps though in terms of the necessary medical supplies and equipment,” Tukula said.
Spokesperson in the Ministry of Health, Joshua Malango, said yesterday that the ministry has scaled up field investigations and surveillance.
The cholera outbreak in the North originated from neighbouring Tanzania after two businesswomen got infected during a business errand.
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