A government minister said on Thursday that about 750 people have died from cholera in the worst outbreak to hit Malawi in two decades.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the southeast African country one of the hardest hit by ongoing global epidemics that are “more widespread and deadly than usual.”
On Thursday, Malawian Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda ordered the closure of many businesses lacking safe water, toilets and hygiene facilities for waste disposal, and announced restrictions on the sale of convenience foods.
“We continue to record an increase in the number of cases across the country despite signs of declining transmission and mortality in several areas,” Chiponda said in a statement calling for hygiene measures to be followed.
On Wednesday, Chiponda said 17 people had died from 589 new cases of the waterborne disease “in the past 24 hours.” She said that since the outbreak began in March last year, 22,759 patients have been registered in the country.
The figures show that about 15 people die every day recently, with 155 deaths recorded in the last ten days. In addition, as of Wednesday, about 1,000 people were hospitalized.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that 31 countries have reported cholera outbreaks since December, up 50% from previous years.
“Although we have had major cholera outbreaks before, we have not seen such a large number of simultaneous outbreaks,” Tedros said, adding that Malawi, Haiti and Syria are among the most affected countries.
Last year, WHO and partners switched to one dose of the standard cholera vaccine instead of the usual two doses due to supply issues.
“Production is currently at peak capacity and despite this unprecedented decision, inventories remain very low,” Tedros said, adding that four additional countries have requested vaccines in the past few weeks.
The WHO has previously blamed the unprecedented global cholera outbreak on complex humanitarian crises in countries with fragile health systems exacerbated by climate change. Warmer temperatures and more rain make it easier for the bacteria that cause cholera to multiply and spread.
CDC Africa director Ahmed Ogwell Ouma told reporters during a weekly online briefing on Thursday that 14 African countries are reporting cases of cholera, many linked to the continent’s floods. In addition, a significant portion of the continent’s 1.3 billion people lack access to safe water, sanitation and proper hygiene.
Uma said Africa, where Malawi is the epicenter of the outbreak, saw 393 deaths from just over 4,000 new cases in the past week.
The country of about 20 million people has recorded 71% of cases and 88% of deaths in the past week, Ouma said.
Some people have blamed the outbreak in the capital, Lilongwe, on the lack of basic services such as safe water and sanitation.
“I ate and drank in the markets without washing my hands. So I was not careful, but there is no water in these places either,” said Kondwani Malizani, 24, an auto mechanic from the crowded Ngwenya village in Lilongwe. He said he was hospitalized with cholera last week.
Lilongwe and the city of Blantyre, the economic center in the south of the country, were hardest hit. Many public places, such as busy markets, lack running water, while people are forced to dig wells at home or draw water from unsafe sources such as rivers and streams, contributing to cholera outbreaks.
Epidemiologist Adamson Muula told The Associated Press (AP) that the outbreak is affecting the “very poor” who do not have access to safe water and sanitation.
“People who have functioning toilets, drinkable tap water in their homes, and those who fortify themselves by forgoing food from questionable places are not at risk,” said Muula, a professor at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Blantyre. He accused the ruling elites of not investing in infrastructure.
“People who are not served by the municipal water supply. Those affected are people who defecate in bushes and other open spaces, drink water from open sources, and live in communities where various water companies may not supply tap water for days,” Muula said. “Such a disease becomes difficult to control as the bourgeois feel carefree.”
Health Minister Chiponda on Thursday announced a ban on the sale of processed foods on the streets, local markets, bus stations and schoolyards. She also ordered the closure of all retail, transportation, tourism, sports, religious and entertainment facilities that lack safe water, functioning toilets and “organized and hygienic” garbage chutes.
She also said that the government plans to expand the water supply network and deliver water by trucks to people living in the slums of Lilongwe and Blantyre. Schools in two districts, which were delayed in early January, are due to reopen on January 17. This comes after the government pledged to provide safe drinking water and restore running water, which had been cut off at some schools in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Chiponda said. .
This week the country has been pleading for donations of cholera beds, tents, buckets of water, rehydration salts, medicines and cash.
In November, WHO and partners sent nearly 3 million cholera vaccines to Malawi. Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease transmitted through contaminated water and food that can cause severe dehydration. It is a bacterial disease that affects both children and adults. If left untreated, up to 30% of cholera cases can be fatal; in extreme cases, the disease can kill within hours.
