Cholera outbreak in Blantyre kills two

Health authorities in Malawi's commercial capital of Blantyre have confirmed that an outbreak of cholera in the city has killed two people, PANA reported on Thursday. Isaac Phiri, a Blantyre environmental health officer, told journalists that at least 228 people are suspected to be suffering from the disease and 22 cholera cases from their number have already been confirmed. "The outbreak is acute mainly in the slum areas of the city because of the bad sanitation situation there," he explained. Phiri attributed the outbreak to a lack of toilets in the affected areas and to flooding in the southern region, which has led to human excreta from septic tanks being washed downstream. He said patients were being quarantined in tents in treatment centres to prevent the disease spreading.