Malawi health authorities said on Thursday that more than 400 people have died in the cholera epidemic in that African country, and nearly 14,000 infections have been reported since the first cases were reported.
READ ALSO:
The death toll from the cholera epidemic in Nigeria rises to 51
Malawi’s health minister, Khumbize Chiponda, has called on the population to receive the vaccine to prevent the disease.
According to data offered by official sources, vaccination coverage reaches 83.6 percent in 13 of the 15 districts for which it was intended.
The city of Mangochi, the largest and most populous in the country, has recorded the highest number of cases.
Given the health situation, the nation’s president, Lazarus Chakwera, has asked the presidential task force on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic to also help mitigate the cholera epidemic, which is considered a public health emergency.
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) donated 2.9 million doses of cholera vaccines to Malawi last November.
The disease, which is spread through contaminated food and water, could worsen as most cases occurred before the rains began.
