Authorities in Malawi have received nearly three million doses of cholera vaccine to deal with the outbreak in the country, which has left more than 6,200 cases and nearly 190 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed.
WHO said the batch has arrived «at a key moment when cholera continues to spread in Malawi,» after 6,253 confirmed cases and 188 deaths in 27 affected districts as of November 7.
The agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners are assisting the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Health to provide patient care, train medical workers, distribute supplies, strengthen water treatment systems and conduct awareness campaigns.
In this regard, Malawi’s Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponga, highlighted that the new vaccination campaign will be carried out «in the coming weeks» and explained that «it is one of the country’s strategies to strengthen cholera response and preparedness».
«The campaign targets 2.9 million Malawian citizens, both adults and children over one year old, living in districts highly affected by cholera. In addition, we encourage all citizens to a behavior of seeking treatment as soon as possible,» he has said.
WHO has indicated that this second vaccination campaign will prioritize fourteen districts with high numbers of cases: Karonga, Rumphi, Mzimba North, Mzimba South, Likoma, Nkhatabay, Chitipa, Lilongwe, Salima, Nkhotakota, Kasungu, Nsanje, Zomba and Blantyre.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the ‘vibrio cholerae bacillus’, as highlighted by WHO on its website, where it stresses that «cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development».
