Lusaka, Feb 11 (IANS): A total of 104,585 people have received doses of the oral cholera vaccine in Chililabombwe, Zambia's hardest-hit district in Copperbelt Province in the latest cholera outbreak, Minister of Health Elijah Muchima said.
This number represents 81 per cent of the targetted population of 129,837.
The vaccination campaign, which started last Friday, was being conducted in partnership with stakeholders such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund and the Red Cross, Muchima said.
"With enhanced measures in place and all line ministries putting their hands on deck, we are confident that the cholera outbreak will be contained in the soonest," he told a press briefing Monday.
Other measures include installation of water tanks and provision of treated water for handwashing in strategic points. There are also plans to drill eight boreholes in strategic zones, the minister said.
Copperbelt Province, battling the cholera outbreak since January, had recorded 206 cases as of February 9, out of the cumulative national total of 238 cases, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
All the eight recorded deaths occurred in Copperbelt Province, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the World Health Organisation, Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibro cholerae. It is a global public health threat and indicates inequity and lack of social and economic development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene is essential to prevent cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Most people with cholera have mild or moderate diarrhoea and can be treated with oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the disease can progress rapidly, so starting treatment quickly is vital to save lives. Patients with severe disease need intravenous fluids, ORS and antibiotics.
Cholera can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea, which can be fatal within hours if untreated. Most people infected with Vibro cholerae do not develop symptoms but can spread the bacteria through their faeces for 1–10 days. Symptoms appear 12 hours to 5 days after infection.