Cholera outbreak hits tourists
Three tourists from overseas are among an increasing number of patients who have survived the prevailing cholera outbreak which has hit some parts of the country since last month.
The adventurers from Australia and the Netherlands were admitted to Nkhata Bay District Hospital on Friday following an attack while touring various attractions in the district.
The disease, which has hit about 250 Malawians so far, is associated with exposure to unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene, especially open defecation which remains widespread in the country.
However, Nkhata Bay district health office spokesperson Christopher signni said the tourists, who were discharged on Sunday, suspected they contracted cholera germs while eating a seasonal delicacy in the lakeshore hotpot.
“Cumulatively, Nkhata Bay has registered 33 cholera cases, including three tourists–a man and two women. The tourists say, they might have acquired the disease after eating mushrooms. When tourists see local foods, they tend to have a burning urge to taste it,” he said.
Their survival leaves Nkhata Bay with nine cholera cases–with five hospitalised at the district hospital and four at the hard-to-reach Usiska Health Centre.
The district, which last detected a cholera case on Saturday, has since banned the selling of foodstuffs in CHRISTOPHER-SINGINIopen spaces and uncertified restaurants to control the outbreak.
Despite the crackdown, Singini accepted the disease is likely to scare away the tourists from the picturesque holiday destination.
He said: “We are not saying tourists should stop visiting Nkhata Bay, but they should exercise caution when it comes to foodstuffs and personal hygiene.”
The health officials, together with district council staff, are currently sensitising the public how to avoid the disease which has hit Machinga, Zomba, Nkhata Bay and Karonga.
So far, the worsening outbreak, which Minister of Health Peter Kumpalume recently declared “under control”, has killed nine Malawians in Machinga. n
This outbreak of cholera has been long in coming.. Last year I wrote an article in the Nation News about the deplorable conditions in Nkhata Bay primarily the Boma and the beachfront areas. Tourists have stopped visiting the area as it is disgustingly filthy, noisy, drugs and crime is out of control. How can a decent person be surprised that a disease like cholera has sprung up in Nkhata Bay and Malawi…
Look around the country and see the filth that the country is!!!