Lilongwe registers cholera case suspected from Zambia

A truck driver has been admitted to Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe due to cholera suspected to have been imported from Zambia.

Health officials say the truck driver was coming from Zambia and fell sick in Lilongwe.

Test results showed he was suffering from cholera.

Meanwhile, Mchinji District Health Office (DHO) say the district is on high alert to prevent a cholera outbreak which has been reported in the neighbouring country of Zambia.

 Director of Health and Social Services in Mchinji, Dr Yohane Mwale said Mchinji DHO is taking proactive measures to safeguard communities against the disease.

Mwale said they have intensified screening and checks at the border so as to prevent those who may have the disease from entering the country.

“We are ensuring that all people entering the country from Zambia at Mwami border get screened. Our health promotion office is also intensifying awareness with the help of health surveillance assistants,” said Mwale.

Mwale, however, said the office remains worried about individuals using uncharted routes to enter the country, thereby posing a potential risk to the containment efforts.

Meanwhile, officials from the department of sanitation and hygiene in the Ministry of Water and Sanitation who were led by the Director of Sanitation, Dr. Modesta Kanjaye, presented essential items to the office, aimed at preventing waterborne diseases.

Speaking after presenting the items which included chlorine, soap, buckets and heavy-duty gloves, Kanjaye said the Ministry decided to visit Mchinji to appreciate the magnitude of the problem and offer support.

“We thought it wise to come and see the situation here in Mchinji, having heard of the outbreak in neighbouring Zambia.

“This will help us to see how best we can offer assistance in terms of sanitation inorder to prevent the disease from spreading,” said Kanjaye.

Zambia is battling a worst cholera outbreak which has not spared places that are close to Malawi, including Vubwi and Chipata.