Malawi is closing schools in its two largest cities, Blantyre and Lilongwe, due to cholera. The current outbreak of the infectious disease has already claimed nearly 600 lives in the East African country and is regarded as the worst in a decade.
Schools in the hard-hit cities were supposed to reopen on January 3. They will remain closed for the foreseeable future to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. It is not known when schools will be allowed to reopen.
Cholera occurs every year in Malawi, but this year the infectious disease has hit much harder. There are currently almost eighteen thousand confirmed cases of cholera and 595 people have died from the consequences. Normally, the death toll is about a hundred people per year.
Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda is now calling for more precautions, the news agency writes Reuters. She advocates, among other things, the use of disinfectants in markets and schools. She also wants more people to be vaccinated.
But there are not enough vaccines. The World Health Organization WHO already warned in October that there is a worldwide shortage of the malaria vaccine. As a result, people no longer receive the standard two doses, but only one. In this way, more countries can use the vaccine, while the people who receive a vaccination are still partly protected.
Outbreaks of cholera were also reported in other countries last year. According to the WHO, about thirty countries are experiencing an outbreak, more than a third more than in a ‘normal’ season.
Cholera is an infectious disease that is accompanied by a lot of diarrhea. Without treatment, it can lead to death within hours. The disease spreads through water and contaminated food.