Over the months, suspected cases of cholera were reported in Chikwawa. Numerous stool samples were sent to the National Reference Laboratory and the very first case was confirmed in January this year.
According to Chikwawa District Health Promotion Officer, Settie Piriminta, as at June 2017 the district had recorded 70 cholera cases. He said the district health office has since been carrying out hygiene promotion and awareness meetings to eradicate the disease.
“There is so much that we have been doing. We are carrying out pot-to-pot chlorination and encouraging the communities to use sanitary facilities. We have taken advantage of existing community structures to help us in the sensitization and behavior change. In the coming months we shall be administering oral cholera vaccine and we hope to see the numbers drop,” said Piriminta.
