No new Typhoid cases in Neno
No new case of Typhoid fever has been reported in Nsambe area under Traditional Authority (T/A) Dambe in Neno in the past three weeks, district health authorities have said.
Ministry of Health confirmed the outbreak which was first reported in the area on August 6 2015, and had attacked 130 people.
In an interview Neno District Health Office spokesperson Ganizani Mkwate said no new cases have been reported and that all patients are now in stable condition.
Said Mkwate: “We are still intensifying health education on safe drinking water, hand washing, personal hygiene and food safety because the disease is associated with poor hygiene practices.
“We are also giving out chlorine to all households to prevent the outbreak from resurfacing.”
No death has been reported this time around, but the outbreak claimed 35 lives in the same area in 2011.
Chairperson for Network of Civil Society Organisations in Neno Russell Msiska said the area is prone to typhoid due to poor hygiene practices and its geographic position. “We are also sensitizing the communities on proper use of toilets as the area is so uncivilized and most people defecate in bushes,” he added. Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, and spreads through poor hygiene habits and public sanitation conditions, and sometimes by flying insects feeding on
faeces.
