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Monday, February 10, 2025
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Chipata Cholera Cases Rise

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Health authorities have confirmed nearly 50 cases of cholera in Chipata, the east capital, since the first recorded case on May 29.

As of Thursday, June 6, the city’s health department had recorded 49 cases within a week of the first case.

Chipata City Council revealed that the outbreak was first recorded at Chipata’s Namuseche Urban Health Centre.

Council Public Relations Officer Eddie Ngoma said the council had identified a restaurant at a trading area known as Saturday Market within the city’s town centre as the cholera hotspot.

“To date, a total of 49 cases have been detected, with 25 confirmed through the lab. From these 49 cases, 34 were reported to have taken meals from the town centre market, popularly known as Saturday Market.”

He explained that 11 water samples were collected from the Saturday Market restaurant storage containers, and lab examinations showed the presence of faecal coliforms in nine of the samples.

According to statistics gathered so far, no death has occurred out of the cumulative 49 cases, while 10 hospital discharges have been made. In the 24-hour period to Thursday, nine new cases had been recorded and 13 were still admitted to hospital.

“With this standing, our appeal as Chipata City Council is to the traders and members of the general public to allow us to work in the market,” Ngoma said.

Earlier this year, Zambia faced its worst cholera outbreak in 20 years. Over 20,000 cases and more than 690 deaths were reported since October 2023.

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