Africa
Zambia Facing Double Health Crisis Of Cholera, Anthrax Outbreak
Besides Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe have also recorded cases of anthrax this year, with a total of 20 deaths
Lusaka, Zambia– Zambia, grappling with its most severe anthrax outbreak in over ten years, has recently recorded fatalities attributed to cholera, as disclosed by health authorities in the southern African nation on Tuesday.
In 24 hours, four people succumbed to cholera in the capital city of Lusaka, raising the total number of casualties from this infection to 64 across the entire country since the beginning of the year.
The National Institute of Public Health of Zambia reports that, during the same period, 46 of these fatalities were documented in the capital, over the specified timeframe, there have been 1,600 recorded infections.
Acute diarrheal infection caused by the absorption of food or water contaminated by bacteria, cholera is on the rise on the continent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said that the government is actively distributing chlorine to purify water in regions affected by the epidemic. She emphasized the importance of adhering to strict hygiene measures and urged the population to follow guidelines for preventing the spread of the disease.
The new deaths come days after the WHO announced that the country was facing its worst anthrax outbreak since 2011. Since the start of the year, the; anthrax – oranthrax – has claimed four lives and 700 suspected cases in the country, according to the WHO.
The bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which survives for decades in the form of spores in land where animals that died of anthrax or carried the disease have been buried in the past, is transmissible to the disease. man and potentially fatal in its rarest forms.
According to the WHO, 26 of the suspected cases in Zambia come from “consumption of meat taken from the carcasses of three hippos”. The organization warned of a “high” risk of the anthrax epidemic spreading to neighbouring countries, given “the frequent (cross-border) movements of populations and animals”.
Besides Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe have also recorded cases of anthrax this year, with a total of 20 deaths and some 1,100 suspected cases.
