Malawi: Karonga District Health Office (DHO) has registered three new Cholera cases in the communities within the district. The development has been reported a week after a single case from Mlare in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu emerged previously.
The leaders have shared that with this new development, three new cholera cases have been confirmed active. Karonga DHO Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Officer, Raymond Jereni spoke to the media regarding the issue.
The interview for the same was conducted on Friday. In the said interview, the medical officer said, “the three confirmed cases have been registered in Mwamunyira and Mwamasapa villages in the district.”
“Through our case tracing mechanisms we have established that one of the patients started exhibiting Cholera signs after travelling to one of Cholera prone areas in Tanzania,” said Jereni.
He added that another risky factor for the outbreak is consumption of contaminated water from Rukuru River along which the two villages are.
“The patients are currently receiving treatment at the Cholera Treatment Unit at Karonga District Hospital.
“We have intensified case investigation and patients’ contact tracing, house to house water chlorination and community engagement and sensitization on how to curb the outbreak,” said Jereni.
He said the office has partnered with Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) and Momentum Tikweze Umoyo Project. The two organizations are helping the district in implementing their Cholera Intervention Plan.
Cholera is a significant crisis for the African continent and has claimed thousands of lives in the 2022-23 outbreak. The officials have shared that the leadership of the country is working hard to make sure that the outbreak does not return.
MRCS Project Officer for Karonga, Ruth Jere, said the organization is supporting the DHO in tracing cholera suspects and providing cholera supplies in all health facilities around the affected areas.
“We have also deployed volunteers who are supporting health surveillance assistants in a mass Cholera vaccination and raising community awareness on the outbreak,” Jere said.
Currently Karonga District has eight cumulative confirmed cases of cholera.