Cholera kills 2 people in 3 months
Two people have died of cholera and 67 cases have been recorded in the country since November 1 2023, according to official data.
The two deaths are believed to be from Mulanje as the district council, in its latest cholera update, indicated two deaths and 13 new cases.
However, authorities are allaying the fears, saying the picture represents a low-level and sporadic outbreak, mostly in districts of the Southern Region that border two neighbouring countries of Mozambique and Zambia.
Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera co-chairperson Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma said last Thursday these numbers pale in significance to over 11 000 cases and 374 deaths recorded during November 1 2022 to January 31 2023.
He said that since January 1 2024, the country has been recording an average of four cases per week, except last week when seven cases were recorded.
Said Chalamira Nkhoma: “The cases reported during the last week were from Chikwawa, Nsanje, and Thyolo. Other districts that have reported a confirmed case since January 1 2024 are Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Mulanje and Mwanza.”
However, he warned of a threat posed by cross-border transmission from neighbouring countries of Mozambique and Zambia where severe cholera outbreaks are currently raging, saying some cases being reported in Nsanje, Chikwawa, and Mwanza have been traced to Mozambique.
“We advise the citizenry and inhabitants to avoid unnecessary travel to countries where severe cholera outbreaks are being reported,” said Chalamira Nkhoma.
He further called upon Malawians and all inhabitants to remain vigilant and ensure that they are using safe water sources for domestic and other purposes, observe strict hand and food hygiene, and strict household sanitation practices.
On his part, Malawi Health Equity Network executive director George Jobe said it is high time Malawi and its development partners took a proactive approach to fight against the outbreak in its infancy stage.
“Massive awareness campaigns among the citizenry, including distribution of chlorine, must be intensified as it becomes expensive to do these things when the situation has worsened,” he said.
Malawi recorded 1 771 deaths from 59 106 cases between January 1 2022 and January 24 2024.
