By Fostina Mkandawire:
Salima District Hospital this week has registered a single cholera case of a 51- year-old woman from Chindungwa Village in Traditional Authority Pemba in the district.
“A Cholera rapid test came out positive. The client reported at the district hospital in the morning of Tuesday at the Out Patient Department with acute waterly diarrhoea,” said Salima District Hospital Health Promotion Officer, Angella Sakwata.
Sakwata, who is also Public Relations Officer for the hospital, said the patient developed diarrhoea and vomiting in the morning hours of Tuesday. A vehicle was mobilised to transport the patient to Salima District Hospital for treatment.
She added: “As a result, the patient was admitted at the hospitals isolation and treatment centre. A team comprising Environmental Health Officer, Community Health Nurse, Clinician and Lab Technician visited the village where the case came from for further investigation.”
Sakwata further explained that the previous day, (September 12, 2022), the patient was involved in the preparation and serving of meals at a funeral that occurred in Lilongwe but vigil was conducted a few houses away from her house.
The funeral is said to have attracted relatives from Lilongwe and Nkhotakota Districts.
On this point, she said contacts of the patient were identified (8 in total) and three (3) of them were tested using the rapid test but the results came out negative.
In addition, disinfection of the household, household items and clothes of contacts was done.
Traditional Authority Pemba advised his wards to be vigilant in reporting suspected cases and also practice hygiene to contain the spread of the disease in the area.
Salima is the 19th district to have cholera cases in the country. Cumulatively, the country has registered 2, 643 cholera cases.
