At least 44 people have been confirmed dead following an outbreak of cholera in two of Malawi's three regions, according to reports reaching Lusaka on Sunday.
Chief Health Education Officer in the Ministry of Health Jonathan Nkhoma told the press in Blantyre on Sunday that 425 cholera patients are being treated in hospitals in the central and southern region.
He said that the southern lakeshore district of Mangochi is the hardest hit, while there has been no reported cholera case in the northern region.
Nkhoma noted that cholera is more serious in the southern region because Lake Chilwa has been contaminated.
He said since the lake has no outlet, all wastes from upland are concentrated in it, thereby creating ideal conditions for the breeding of the cholera-causing bacteria.
"The reservoir of cholera is Lake Chilwa because it is an inland lake which is also salty and these conditions favor the breeding of the bacteria which causes the disease," the health officer explained.
However, environmentalists have voiced a different opinion, saying cholera is getting out of hand due to lack of enough toilets.
A recent environmental survey showed that most health centers in the country have only one toilet catering for cholera and non- cholera patients as well as guardians.
This makes transmission of the disease both easy and fast, the survey stated.
Nkhoma also attributed the spread of the disease to the traditional practice of washing the corpses of cholera victims.
"Corpses of cholera victims are supposed to be encased in a plastic and has to be buried without opening it," he said.
But most mourners in Malawi insist on making the body lie in state after being washed.
This makes mourners susceptible to catching the disease, Nkhoma said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2002)
