By Burnett Munthali

Surprisingly, in the history of Malawi, it has never happened that cholera could break out in the dry season before rains could come.

It is always expected that if there was cholera outbreak, the disease would be prevalent in the rain season.

However, 2022 has been a different year as the outbreak of cholera started way back in the dry season far away before people could even think and dream about rain season.

All this came after Malawians had been burdened by yet another challenge of COVID-19 which was almost coming to an end as the numbers decreased tremendously.

The deadly disease is now in the capital city of Lilongwe after it affected Waka Waka. Cholera is slowly moving to other parts of locations of Lilongwe.

The main cause is lack of hygiene and drinking contaminated water which puts several thousands of residents at risk.

I have often times seen people displaying their food items in very wrong places in different market places within the city. Some people are spotted putting bananas and other fruits on top of old sewage ventries while others put food items just anywhere on the ground.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholera bacteria.

People can get sick when they swallow food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria.

The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.

A person can get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with cholera bacteria.

In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person that contaminates water or food.

The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water.

Why is cholera the Blue death?

King Cholera

They called it the blue death. As dehydration racked the body, blood would begin to thicken in patients’ veins; starved of oxygen, their skin would turn a sickly shade of blue.

Modern sewage and water treatment have virtually eliminated cholera in industrialized countries. But cholera still exists in Africa, Southeast Asia and Haiti.

The risk of a cholera epidemic is highest when poverty, war or natural disasters force people to live in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation.