Africa: Over 51 Killed in Regional Cholera Outbreak

Cholera outbreak has killed more than 50 people in East and Southern Africa since the beginning of the year. Zambia is the hardest hit by the water borne disease as it accounts for about half of the over 4 000 cases reported during this period. The Southern African country is followed by Kenya, Angola, Somalia and Tanzania in terms of the severity of the outbreaks, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In Zambia, 12 districts located in six provinces including the capital Lusaka, are affected by the outbreaks first reported last October. Neighbouring Zimbabwe is on high alert after a new outbreak. There has been one fatality, with an 80-year-old female succumbing to the disease at her home in Chegutu, 100 km west of the capital Harare. More than 4 000 Zimbabweans died after the country’s worst cholera outbreak ten years ago. Killing an average 28 000 people per year globally; cholera is spread mostly by unsafe water and contaminated food. Floods have worsened the recent outbreaks that have claimed at least 51 lives in East and Southern Africa