Rains cause cholera outbreak

The onset of the rainy season has brought fears of a cholera outbreak in Malawi, with health officials already reporting at least 360 cases since the weekend. A health official in the southern district of Nsanje, told IRIN on Monday: “We are likely to witness an outbreak of cholera and other communicable diseases as the summer rains begin to fall.” The official added that the lack of proper sanitation is the main cause of the outbreak of communicable diseases. “Many people use pit latrines which get washed away in heavy rains, thereby causing diseases such as cholera,” said the official. Meanwhile, PANA reported on Sunday that Blantyre, the commercial capital of Malawi, has been the hardest hit with 122 cholera cases reported at the weekend. Lilongwe, the capital registered 91 cases of the disease. The health ministry reportedly attributed the growing number of cases of cholera in these major cities to an increase in squatter settlements. These settlements, according to the ministry, lack adequate sanitation facilities.