Mozambique, Malawi battle cholera outbreak in wake of Cyclone Freddy

By Moses Michael-Phiri

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AA) - Weeks after the massive Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique and Malawi, the two countries are now facing a spiraling cholera outbreak.

Flooding brought by the cyclone has exposed thousands of displaced people to water with sewage overflow and other sources of bacteria. Cholera spreads through feces, often when it gets into drinking water.

In Mozambique, cholera has killed 85 people, and there were over 20 000 confirmed cases across eight provinces, according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

At least 31 died of cholera in Zambezia and over 3,200 were hospitalized between March 15 and 29, according to Health Ministry data.

- Mass cholera vaccination drive

The Mozambican government has since rolled out a mass vaccination drive launched in Quelimane, capital of the Zambezia province, local media reported Tuesday.

The country received 1.7 million doses of cholera vaccine, obtained by UNICEF, to start the vaccination campaign.

The media quoted Ilesh Jani, Mozambique’s deputy health minister, saying they expect a fall in the number of cases.

In neighboring Malawi, the outbreak has killed 1,722 people and affected 56,763, the Public Health Institute of Malawi said in a Tuesday update.

Malawi’s Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Cholera said Tuesday they are winning the fight against cholera through vaccinations and containment measures.

Malawi vaccinated over 3 million people before doses ran out in December 2022.

“However, cases are slowly going down. Between March 27 and April 2 the country recorded 14 deaths representing an average of two deaths per day,” task force national coordinator Dr. Bridon M'baya told Anadolu via telephone.

In the week of March 20-26, the country recorded 22 deaths representing an average of about three deaths per day.

While in terms of cholera cases, in the week of March 27-April 2, the country recorded 852 new cases against the previous week's 1,102, representing an average of about 122 and 157 cases respectively per day, according to M'baya.

Cyclone Freddy killed 165 people in Mozambique, 17 in Madagascar, and 676 in Malawi.

More than 530 people remain missing.