The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Malawi has passed 1,000 as the total cases recorded in the country rises to 30,621.
Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda revealed this on Wednesday.
According to the minister, most of the deaths occurred in the two main cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre, where children recently returned to classes after schools delayed opening to try and contain the spread.
Chiponda called on residents and health practitioners to take extra care handling the bodies of cholera victims before funerals.
“People who are dying from cholera may be washed by family members who then prepare funeral feasts … Outbreaks of cholera commonly follow these feasts,” she said.
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The minister called for people to use proper decontamination procedures with chlorine and plastic body bags.
There has been an unusually high surge in contaminations during and after the festive season in the country.
“The cumulative confirmed cases and deaths since the onset of the outbreak is 30,621 and 1,002, respectively, with case fatality rate at 3.27 percent,” Chiponda added.
Last week, Health officials revealed that several clinics in the country, which received 2.7 million doses of the cholera vaccine under a WHO program, were running low on supplies.
