110 Dead in Cholera Outbreak in Malawi Since March, Thousands Infected

110 Dead in Cholera Outbreak in Malawi Since March, Thousands Infected


Last Updated: October 05, 2022, 08:09 IST

110 Dead in Cholera Outbreak in Malawi Since March, Thousands Infected

Cholera killed some 10,000 people through a 2010 outbreak that has been blamed on a United Nations peacekeeping force. (Reuters Photo)

The first case of the debilitating infection, which spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, was reported in March in the southern district of Machinga.

Cholera has spread to 22 of Malawi’s 28 districts, killing 110 people and infecting 3,891 people since March when the first case was reported, the health minister said on Tuesday.

The first case of the debilitating infection, which spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, was reported in March in the southern district of Machinga.

The disease has since then spread rapidly to other regions of the country, raising alarm that it could worsen at the onset of Malawi’s rain season in November and December.

Malawi’s health minister Khumbize Chiponda said in a statement that most of the deaths occurred because infected people came late for treatment at health facilities.

“The major factors associated with the cholera outbreak in the communities are poor food hygiene, lack of safe water and low latrines coverage and usage (open defecation),” Chiponda said.

Read the Latest News and Breaking News here



Source link