KinshasaAfrica – Malawi is one of the countries hardest hit by a cholera epidemic with 750 deaths recorded. The Minister of Health on Thursday ordered the closure of many businesses that do not have drinking water, toilets or hygienic waste disposal facilities, and announced restrictions on the sale of pre-cooked food.
The World Health Organization has previously blamed the unprecedented global upsurge in cholera on complex humanitarian crises in countries with fragile health systems, made worse by climate change. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall facilitate the multiplication and spread of the bacteria responsible for cholera.
“We have received 2.9 million doses of cholera vaccine, but as we speak we have around 40,000 left. That means Malawians have been vaccinated. What is worrying though is that those who received the vaccine are not the ones who are at high risk. Those who are at high risk are proving difficult to convince to get vaccinated,” explained the Malawi Minister of Health.
On Wednesday, the minister said 17 people had died following infections rose by 589 new cases in one day. She said the country had recorded 22,759 cases since the outbreak began in March last year.
With Africa news
