Cholera hits Malawi
2008-12-18 21:29
Blantyre - A cholera outbreak in central Malawi has killed five people since the start of the rainy season, authorities said on Thursday, adding that it was not connected with the crisis in Zimbabwe.
"So far we have recorded five deaths out of 88 cases of cholera reported as of Wednesday," said Storn Kabuluzi, director of preventive health services at the ministry of health.
Kabuluzi said all those who have died since November were from the rural town of Likuni, about 10km from the administrative capital Lilongwe.
He said the spread of cholera was exacerbated by poor sanitation.
"We hope to contain the situation with the drilling of a borehole and treating water with chlorine. The outbreak is not related to the epidemic currently gripping Zimbabwe," Kabuluzi said.
Malawi is neighbours with the strife-torn Zimbabwe where cholera has killed over 1 000 people since August, according to UN figures.
Malawi suffered its worst cholera outbreak in 2001, when 1 000 people died of the water-borne disease.
Official figures show that 65% of the 13 million Malawians have access to clean drinking water while 81.4% of households have a pit latrine.