Zambia delays start of school year as cholera deaths rise

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Zambia delays start of school year as cholera deaths rise

9:23 CAT | 05 Jan 2024

Image: Bloomberg

Closures echo response taken in early 2018 to prior outbreak

Cholera transmission active in several African countries

Zambia has delayed the start of its school year by three weeks, echoing measures taken in January 2018, as cholera deaths in the southern African nation climb.

School re-openings have been suspended until at least Jan. 29 as part of steps to contain the outbreak that’s infected 4,097 people and killed 150 countrywide since October, according to data from the Zambia National Public Health Institute. The highest daily rate was reported on Thursday with 23 deaths, compared with 16 the day before.

Cholera outbreaks have affected 16 African countries over the last two years as severe storms and wars have accelerated the spread of illnesses. The bacterial disease, which causes severe dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea, can kill within hours if left untreated.

While curbs on shops, markets and other institutions haven’t yet been implemented and the government “is concerned about the negative impact pandemics have had on the education sector in the past, safeguarding the lives of school communities remains a priority,” Education Minister Douglas Syakalima told reporters in Lusaka, the capital, on Thursday.

South Africa’s health department has intensified screening services and education on the disease at land ports of entry after the World Health Organization late last year called for heightened surveillance to prevent and mitigate cross border transmission.

The department urged “all travellers returning from cholera-endemic areas, including Zimbabwe, to be vigilant of cholera symptoms and cooperate with health officials, and be transparent.”

All suspected cholera patients “will be referred to the nearest health facilities for testing,” it said in a statement earlier this week.

Source: Bloomberg