A health worker takes care of patients at a cholera treatment center of a hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, Jan. 5, 2024. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)
The Zambian capital is witnessing a surge of cholera cases, with its health system overrun by patients. Cumulative cholera cases in the country have now reached over 7,000 in 45 districts in eight of the country's 10 provinces since the disease broke out in October last year.
LUSAKA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian capital is witnessing a surge of cholera cases, with its health system overrun by patients.
A photo of patients lying on the floor at a hospital in Kanyama, one of the sprawling shanty compounds with a high incidence of cholera, shows the magnitude of the problem and has forced health authorities to designate a stadium as a cholera treatment center.
Health workers in the city are now faced with overwhelming work, Zambian Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo said.
Masebo, who visited the main treatment center on Sunday, said that out of 567 new cases recorded on Sunday, 504 were from Lusaka while out of the 27 deaths recorded, 26 were in the city as well.
Cumulative cholera cases in the country have now reached over 7,000 in 45 districts in eight of the country's 10 provinces since the disease broke out in October last year.
"The government is doing everything possible to get to a point where I can come and say everything is under control," she told reporters after touring the facility.
Health workers and relatives of patients are seen at a cholera treatment center of a hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, Jan. 5, 2024. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)
The government also called on all essential health workers currently on leave to once again assume their duties.
Lusaka Province Health Director Simulyamana Choonga said the call took immediate effect and involved all medical and non-medical staff, in order to stabilize staffing levels in the various service delivery points.
The health minister said the issue of fighting the epidemic is far from completed, because major causes of cholera such as poor water and sanitation system in the city have not been resolved, a situation that requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders.
To ensure that the disease is contained in the city, various stakeholders have jumped on board.
Masebo said defense personnel have been engaged to select residential areas, especially in the worst affected areas to spearhead cleaning operations.
Local authorities in the city also moved to bury shallow wells, which were seen as a major source of contamination in shanty compounds.
Chilando Chitangala, mayor of Lusaka, said the council has directed civic leaders in the city to work with community leaders and health workers to identify active shallow wells in their respective areas to ensure that they are buried.
"The numbers being recorded are alarming and as such we need to do everything possible to curb a further spread," she said in a statement.
To ensure a supply of clean and safe drinking water in affected areas, the council has started providing water bowsers and appealed to residents to boil their water before drinking it or add chlorine, the mayor said.■