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Paramount Chief Kyungu has expressed worry at the cholera outbreak in Karonga District after noticing that cases of the disease have been increasing despite efforts to contain it.

Officials from Karonga District Hospital (KDH) said as of Wednesday, the hospital had registered 133 cases, including seven deaths.

Karonga district environmental health officer Lewis Tukula on Wednesday told chiefs in the district that the hospital is failing to contain the disease because it is sporadic in nature.

He said: “The disease has occurred in four traditional authorities [T/As], namely Kyungu, Mwilang’ombe, Mwakaboko and Kilupula, a development which is making us fail to contain it.

“The biggest challenge the hospital faces is transporting patients from health centres to the district hospital as the centres have no infrastructure to diagnose cholera patients and we are appealing for assistance from partners.”

He said, currently, 13 patients are admitted to the hospital.

Kyungu had courted over 50 affected village heads (VHs) from the district to discuss ways of helping contain the outbreak.

He asked the VHs to observe hygiene in their communities by making sure that their subjects are not defecating in Lake Malawi.

Said Kyungu: “We should be agents of change in our communities by making sure that our subjects have enough latrines, not like is the case now where five to six families depend on one latrine.” n