By EastAfrican gazette
Zambia
In response to the acute outbreak of Cholera, the Zambian Government has implemented stringent measures to control transmission.
The country continues to grapple with this severe outbreak, which has tragically resulted in over 300 fatalities and approximately 9000 active cases. Similar crises were faced by Zambia in 1977.
To address the situation, Zambia’s head of state, Hakainde Hichilema, has directed urban residents to relocate to villages, highlighting the connection between poor sanitation in densely populated areas and the rapid spread of cholera.
Additionally, the government has prohibited funerals and family burials.
Sylvia Masebo, the country’s health minister, has urged communities to refrain from participating in burials and attending funerals, as this is aimed at reducing the transmission and spread of this dangerous disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) cholera expert has attributed the cholera crisis in the Horn of Africa to major floods, unprecedented monsoons, and a series of cyclones.
According to annual statistics, there are 1.3 to four million cases of cholera and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide from this disease.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by consuming contaminated food or water containing the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, as stated by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
It is important to note that people can become ill when they ingest food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria.
While the infection is often mild or asymptomatic, it can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.
Approximately 1 in 10 individuals with cholera will experience severe symptoms, including profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, thirst, leg cramps, restlessness, or irritability during the early stages.
Severe cholera can lead to dehydration, which, if left untreated, can result in kidney failure.
In extreme cases, untreated severe dehydration can lead to shock, coma, and death within a matter of hours.
Preventing transmission
To prevent the bacteria from spreading, all feces (human waste) from sick persons should be thrown away carefully to ensure it does not contaminate anything nearby.
People caring for cholera patients must wash their hands thoroughly after touching anything that might be contaminated with patients’ feces (poop).
Experts note that when cholera patients are treated quickly, they usually recover without long-term consequences.
Cholera patients do not typically become carriers of the cholera bacteria after they recover, but they get sick if exposed again.