A cholera suspected case has been reported at Mwanza District Hospital (DHO) of Malawian national based in Mozambique.
In an interview with District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) for Mwanza District Hospital, Blessings Chitsime on Tuesday said that rapid test which was conducted upon arrival at the facility on Monday has come out cholera positive.
“Samples have already been sent to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) for confirmation,” he said.
According to Chitsime, contaminated water from a river in Tete-Mozambique which was drunk by the 26 year old patient two days before was suspected to be the source of the infection.
The DEHO said that the man who claims to be working in Tete Town is meanwhile receiving medical attention at the facility.
He added that health facility counterpart of Tete has have been notified of the development through Moatize District Hospital.
The Cholera incident from Mozambique is coming at the time that Mwanza DHO has enhanced sanitation promotion activities in all public places, schools and households through various means such as community awareness meetings,drama and public address systems among others in order to wipe out the disease completely in the district.
Cholera outbreak status report for Mwanza District which was presented during emergency cross border meeting on health issues between delegates from Moatize and Mwanza District Councils held in Mwanza in May, 2019 boasted that Mwanza DHO had managed to contain the disease in the four years.
According to the report, of 12 cholera cases which were diagnosed and treated at the facility during 2018 and 2019 cholera outbreak season 50 per cent of the patients contracted the disease in Mozambique.
It was indicated in the report that the other six Malawians contracted the disease at Chikolosa Village in Mwanza because clothes of the cholera patient from Zobue but Malawian national were unknowingly washed by relatives in a stream used by the community in the area.
The report said that the last cholera case handled at the facility was that of a Malawian but based at Nkondezi in Moatize Township in Mozambique who was suspected to have contracted it there but was diagnosed and treated at the facility in May 2019.
