From March 2022 to February 2023,1,316 cholera deaths have been recorded out of 40,284 infection cases in Malawi. According to an article written by Dr Lucas Ntyintyane, published in the Sowetan May 26,2023, a patient who had travelled from Diepsloot to Malawi tested positive for cholera on February 28 this year.
The doctor says in SA , the deadly cholera outbreak is a symptom of sick politics. “Why in 2023 are we still talking about cholera,” he asks? He says, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director, released a statement reporting a total of 6,000 cholera cases in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, DRC, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Ethiopia and SA.
When developed countries insist on proper town planning, it is because they understand the importance of healthy living, instead of haphazard informal settlements mushrooming everywhere with poor sanitation, which is a death trap.
Politicians need to provide clean water and proper sanitation for the population. The tragedy is that cholera is preventable, but kills within hours if left untreated. Patients die from severe dehydration and fluid and electrolyte imbalance.
The signs and symptoms, which require the patient to seek medical attention without delay, are the following: severe watery diarrhoea – sometimes called rice stools because of their appearance, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dehydration with sunken eyes.
Treatment requires hospitalisation, nursing the patient in an isolation ward, and plenty of fluids.The doctor will order a stool culture to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe suitable antibiotics and will do blood analysis for fluid and electrolyte imbalance which must be corrected. If treated promptly, the patient will be ready for discharge within a reasonable time.
It is always important to educate communities about the signs and symptoms of this deadly disease, vaccination if necessary will be given, practising good personal hygiene, including proper washing of hands with soap and water before every meal and every time after using the bathroom. Since the start of the outbreak less than two weeks ago, more than 165 people have been affected by cholera and 22 have died in Hammanskraal.
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand
READER LETTER | Politics to blame for cholera outbreak
Image: Felix Dlangamandla
From March 2022 to February 2023,1,316 cholera deaths have been recorded out of 40,284 infection cases in Malawi. According to an article written by Dr Lucas Ntyintyane, published in the Sowetan May 26,2023, a patient who had travelled from Diepsloot to Malawi tested positive for cholera on February 28 this year.
The doctor says in SA , the deadly cholera outbreak is a symptom of sick politics. “Why in 2023 are we still talking about cholera,” he asks? He says, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director, released a statement reporting a total of 6,000 cholera cases in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, DRC, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Ethiopia and SA.
When developed countries insist on proper town planning, it is because they understand the importance of healthy living, instead of haphazard informal settlements mushrooming everywhere with poor sanitation, which is a death trap.
Politicians need to provide clean water and proper sanitation for the population. The tragedy is that cholera is preventable, but kills within hours if left untreated. Patients die from severe dehydration and fluid and electrolyte imbalance.
The signs and symptoms, which require the patient to seek medical attention without delay, are the following: severe watery diarrhoea – sometimes called rice stools because of their appearance, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dehydration with sunken eyes.
Treatment requires hospitalisation, nursing the patient in an isolation ward, and plenty of fluids.The doctor will order a stool culture to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe suitable antibiotics and will do blood analysis for fluid and electrolyte imbalance which must be corrected. If treated promptly, the patient will be ready for discharge within a reasonable time.
It is always important to educate communities about the signs and symptoms of this deadly disease, vaccination if necessary will be given, practising good personal hygiene, including proper washing of hands with soap and water before every meal and every time after using the bathroom. Since the start of the outbreak less than two weeks ago, more than 165 people have been affected by cholera and 22 have died in Hammanskraal.
Cometh Dube-Makholwa, Midrand
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