Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi
Abstract Cholera is endemic in many African countries with recurrent seasonal outbreaks in parts of the region. Malawi has been experiencing seasonal outbreaks of Cholera since 1998, and it is one of the major public health problems. The current cholera outbreak is one of Malawi's worst cholera...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Health Science Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1594 |
| _version_ | 1797310547968917504 |
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| author | Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Allan Kangwerema Simfukwe Knovicks Chalo Mfune Jackson Safari John Thumbiko Kaunda Joel Kalua Glory Sefu Elias Phiri Parth Patel |
| author_facet | Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Allan Kangwerema Simfukwe Knovicks Chalo Mfune Jackson Safari John Thumbiko Kaunda Joel Kalua Glory Sefu Elias Phiri Parth Patel |
| author_sort | Mictum Miggo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cholera is endemic in many African countries with recurrent seasonal outbreaks in parts of the region. Malawi has been experiencing seasonal outbreaks of Cholera since 1998, and it is one of the major public health problems. The current cholera outbreak is one of Malawi's worst cholera outbreaks in the past 10 years. Since the beginning of the outbreak about 56,090 cumulative cases of cholera have been reported with 1712 deaths representing a case fatality rate of 3.1%. This is happening when the country is recovering from the COVID‐19 epidemic, the devastating effects of tropical storms, and is also tackling the polio outbreak. Clearly, the Malawian health system is overstretched. Nevertheless, the country has taken a positive step in responding to the current cholera outbreak. Setting up treatment facilities, stepping up Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives in impacted areas, and improving the surveillance system for early case detection and treatment are some of the actions taken. As the fight against cholera continues there is a need to significantly increase monitoring in all districts, particularly at the community level for early detection and control of the cholera. Considering there are some cross‐border cases from neighboring countries such as Mozambique, good collaboration between the two countries in strengthening surveillance and hygiene practices in the borders will help in controlling the spread of the disease. While it is commendable that dozens of oral cholera vaccines have been given, it should be noted that this provides short‐term prevention. In addressing the nation's ongoing and recurrent cholera outbreaks, we advise prioritizing WASH efforts in addition to oral cholera vaccine administration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:45:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9a528dd6bac48c294f91de33c52cb57 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-8835 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:45:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Science Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9a528dd6bac48c294f91de33c52cb572024-02-14T13:06:22ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352023-10-01610n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.1594Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in MalawiMictum Miggo0Gracian Harawa1Allan Kangwerema2Simfukwe Knovicks3Chalo Mfune4Jackson Safari5John Thumbiko Kaunda6Joel Kalua7Glory Sefu8Elias Phiri9Parth Patel10Clinical Department Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Blantyre MalawiClinical Department Mzuzu Central Hospital Mzuzu MalawiDepartment of Maternal Child Health Nkhatabay District Hospital Mzuzu MalawiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine University of Zambia Lusaka ZambiaDepartment of Clinical Medicine Malawi College of Health Sciences Lilongwe MalawiDepartment of Monitoring and Evaluation Independent Monitoring and Evaluation Nairobi KenyaDepartment of Public Health, Graduate school of Health Sciences University of Ryukyus Nishihara JapanClinical Department Mzuzu Central Hospital Mzuzu MalawiDepartment of Surgery, College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa Arusha TanzaniaThe policy Unit Malawi Liverpool‐wellcome Trust Blantyre MalawiClinical Department Atlas Medical Center Blantyre MalawiAbstract Cholera is endemic in many African countries with recurrent seasonal outbreaks in parts of the region. Malawi has been experiencing seasonal outbreaks of Cholera since 1998, and it is one of the major public health problems. The current cholera outbreak is one of Malawi's worst cholera outbreaks in the past 10 years. Since the beginning of the outbreak about 56,090 cumulative cases of cholera have been reported with 1712 deaths representing a case fatality rate of 3.1%. This is happening when the country is recovering from the COVID‐19 epidemic, the devastating effects of tropical storms, and is also tackling the polio outbreak. Clearly, the Malawian health system is overstretched. Nevertheless, the country has taken a positive step in responding to the current cholera outbreak. Setting up treatment facilities, stepping up Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiatives in impacted areas, and improving the surveillance system for early case detection and treatment are some of the actions taken. As the fight against cholera continues there is a need to significantly increase monitoring in all districts, particularly at the community level for early detection and control of the cholera. Considering there are some cross‐border cases from neighboring countries such as Mozambique, good collaboration between the two countries in strengthening surveillance and hygiene practices in the borders will help in controlling the spread of the disease. While it is commendable that dozens of oral cholera vaccines have been given, it should be noted that this provides short‐term prevention. In addressing the nation's ongoing and recurrent cholera outbreaks, we advise prioritizing WASH efforts in addition to oral cholera vaccine administration.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1594challengescholeracontroloutbreakpreventionresponse |
| spellingShingle | Mictum Miggo Gracian Harawa Allan Kangwerema Simfukwe Knovicks Chalo Mfune Jackson Safari John Thumbiko Kaunda Joel Kalua Glory Sefu Elias Phiri Parth Patel Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi Health Science Reports challenges cholera control outbreak prevention response |
| title | Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi |
| title_full | Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi |
| title_fullStr | Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi |
| title_short | Fight against cholera outbreak, efforts and challenges in Malawi |
| title_sort | fight against cholera outbreak efforts and challenges in malawi |
| topic | challenges cholera control outbreak prevention response |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.1594 |
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