Ntcheu District Hospital has clocked ten years without receiving any cholera case.
Acting District medical Officer (DMO) Gilbert Lodzeni in Ntcheu confirmed reaching the milestone during a cholera stakeholder’s preparedness meeting.
He noted that the district has areas known to be high risk for cholera such as Bwanje and Kasinje areas and that is why authorities still conduct community awareness campaigns on hygiene to prevent the disease.
“Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated, however safe oral cholera vaccines should be used in conjunction with improvement in water and sanitation to control cholera outbreaks when it occurs and for prevention in areas known to be high risk for cholera as Bwanje and Kasinje areas,” said Lodzeni.
Lodzeni added that they are aware that cholera has just hibernated in the district for years and cases can be recorded at any time hence they need various materials at Ntcheu District Hospital.
“The hospital is facing problems of shortage of water, and shortfalls on cholera kits as tents, chlorine, cholera beds, pails and gumboots,” said Lodzeni.
Speaking during the meeting, District Water Development Officer for Ntcheu Onances Nyirenda said there is soil siltation at the district’s water source Mpila Dam where soil has blocked water pipes.
“Currently we are working on the ground to get rid of all obstacles to normalize the situations of distributing safe water. Besides that we are drilling boreholes as a backup in some areas and there are plans to construct dams at Kasinje and Bwanje down streams areas,” said Nyirenda.
He added that the problem is the aging system of Central Region Water Board where the population is increasing but the size of the water pipes are still the same as they were back in 1990s.
