By Our Reporter
Malawian residents leaving at Songwe border area in Karonga the northern part of the country are at risk of being affected by Cholera disease which is reported to have hit its Tanzanian counterparts at Kyela district, health officials have confirmed.
Speaking in an interview with Nyasa times after report that 14 cases have been registered at Kyela the bordering district of Tanzania, Karonga District Hospital Environmental Health Officer Elias Phiri said sensitization campaign to the community onto how they can prevent the disease is under way as the first measure of making sure that the disease does not spread in the country.
According to Phiri, the hospital does not have enough resources to deal with the disease if it spread in the district hence appealing to the government and organizations to immediately intervene the matter.
“Of course, we have been warned by our health counterparts at Kyela in Tanzania that their district has been affected by Cholera and that 14 people are admitted at the hospital, but currently we have not registered such case in our district,” said Phiri.
“Chances of getting the disease especially with people around the Songwe border is high because of the porous of our border which makes everyone to pass free without been screened on top of that we don’t have enough resources to deal with the disease if spread,” Phiri disclosed.
Adding that, “we are therefore appealing for a help from government and any other organization to assist us with resources immediately as we are sensitizing the community to be hygienic.”
The district was lastly affected by Cholera disease in 2003.
