Zambian health officials say they have taken measures to curb the spread of the cholera epidemic in the capital, Lusaka, as 195 people died of the virulent disease over the weekend.
The latest outbreak - first reported in October last year - has persisted despite various mitigation efforts by health authorities, including providing clean drinking water and chlorine to purify water sources in hard-hit areas, cleaning pit latrines, filling and disposing shallow wells.
"We are also working hand in hand with the local authorities in terms of waste disposal and also garbage management," said Kalangwa Kalangwa, assistant director of health promotion at Zambia’s Ministry of Health.
In the hard-hit Kanyama community, located some 35.4 kilometers from Lusaka, discarded waste can be seen everywhere.
Boston Chilobya, a Kanyama resident, said the shallow wells in the community are easily contaminated by dirt during the rainy season. He called on residents in the community to pay more attention to personal hygiene and take precautions to prevent the spread of the disease.
"Let us keep the water not in the buckets, but in the containers, so that at least we can try to prevent the cholera right from our families and from our homes," Chilobya said.
The southern African nation has experienced multiple cholera outbreaks since January 2023, affecting 20 districts. So far, 5,071 cases have been confirmed in the country.
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27 авг 2024