56 cholera cases registered in Blantyre since March

Blantyre Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) cluster has said the district has so far registered 56 cases of cholera with three deaths.
The first case was registered on March 22 in the populous Ndirande Township, according to the cluster. Speaking during a news conference on the cholera outbreak in Blantyre yesterday, Blantyre district environmental health officer (Deho) Jameson Chausa said the areas that have reported cases include Suya in Chirimba, Mdeka, Mdala in Chileka, Baluti, Manase, Mbayani, Zingwangwa and Ndirande Makata.
He said 90 percent of the registered cases are a result of drinking contaminated water as most of the areas affected are squatter settlements which experience erratic water supply and have poor hygiene standards.
Chausa said although cholera is a public health concern, there is no need for people to panic as it is easily preventable through practice of hygiene at household and community level