Chipata residents urged to unite in fighting typhoid

Chipata residents urged to unite in fighting typhoid

Chipata, May 10/13..ZANIS—Stakeholders in Chipata District have been urged to put resources together to combat typhoid fever which has broken out in the district.

District Medical Officer, Davies Simwaba, said members of the District Epidemic Preparedness Committee (DCPC) should come on board and provide necessities to prevent the disease from breading from sources of outbreaks to other areas.

Dr Simwaba noted that there was need for some stakeholders to provide laboratory facilities to test water samples and other institutions to provide chlorine, fuel and transport to ensure effective combating of the typhoid fever.

He was speaking during an emergency District Epidemic Preparedness meeting held at Chipata Municipal Council chamber in Chipata today.

And during the meeting, members raised concerns about water and sanitation at one of the biggest trading places in the district, Saturday Market.

The members said Saturday Market was a place where most people bought food stuffs, adding that the place had poor water supply and sanitation.

They said there was need to be very aggressive in examining food handlers in all eating places to ensure people handling food were safe from contagious diseases like typhoid.

And Dr Simwaba said his office was struggling with environmental diagnosis because the alleged sources of infection were not known as cases were coming from areas spread apart.

He said Chiparamba, Champhande, Kapata and Mchini health facilities which were spread apart, recorded cases of typhoid, saying it was difficult to carry out an environmental diagnosis because cases were coming from all over the places.

‘’It is giving us a headache to make follow-ups because cases are coming from all over the places,’’ Dr Simwaba said.

He said so far, shallow wells from where typhoid victims came have been chlorinated and health education was being emphasised.

Dr Simwaba said three patients were currently undergoing treatment at Chipata General Hospital.

On Tuesday, Eastern Province Medical Officer, Kennedy Malama, disclosed that five people had died of typhoid in Lundazi and Chipata Districts while 26 cases have been recorded in the two districts.