The situation is dire in Nkhata Bay where eight people have died of Cholera and 213 cases have been recorded this month.
On 7th August 2022, the district received alerts of cases of people presenting with fever, abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea and vomiting. The cases were coming from Mgaga village around Tukombo area in the district.
Earlier, it was reported that these were cases of E.Coli infection but it has since been confirmed that it is Cholera that has hit the Lakeshore district.
Secretary for Health Dr. Charles Mwansambo said in a statement today that the district has now reported 213 cases and out of these 26 are still in admission, 179 have recovered after treatment and unfortunately 8 people have died.
Investigation by the District Rapid Response Team has revealed that poor sanitation with about 5% of the households having toilets and poor water supply are the main drivers of this Cholera outbreak.
Late presentation to care is one challenge that the district is facing and most cases are arriving in the treatment unit in such a severe state.
“Various interventions have been put in place to ensure that the outbreak is controlled and these interventions include the treatment of cases, distribution of chlorine for water treatment, community sensitization on the prevention and control of the disease and resource mobilization in terms of drugs and equipment,” said Mwansambo.
A picture shared widely on social media showed patients receiving treatment under trees but Mwansambo said a treatment tent has been erected at Tukombo.
He added that extra curative, nursing and preventive staff from the district have been deployed in the area and also officers from the Ministry of Health are on the ground in Nkhata Bay providing technical support.
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