Typhoid contained in North-West

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 09:50:45 +0000

By JACK MAPAPAYI

 THE outbreak of typhoid that ravaged some parts of  North-Western Province in the past few months has been contained, says provincial health director Andrew Silumesi.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Dr. Silumesi said his office has not recorded any case of typhoid since 13th March this year.

He said last month his office recorded 42 cases suspected to be typhoid in Solwezi, Mushindamo, Kalumbila and Mufumbwe districts.

He said measures have been put in place to ensure that the disease was contained. “I can confirm that a few typhoid cases that were recorded in the province have been contained and there is nothing to worry about so far,” he said.

He said measures such as chlorination of water and use of pit latrines have been intensified in order to eradicate the epidemic in the province.

“Apart from that, we have also continued to sensitize members of the public on the need to keep water points clean and also practice basic hygiene practices such as washing of hands after use of a toilet,” he said.

He, however, urged members of the general public to be hygienic and keep their surroundings clean to prevent the outbreak of the disease.

Meanwhile, the provincial health director has disclosed that the province would this year host the Safe Motherhood Week and would be focusing on the theme “Universal access to safe reproductive health services’’.

He said the event was commemorated annually and was aimed at raising awareness on the issue of maternal mortality.

He said according to statistics, maternal mortality rate in Zambia was currently standing at 398 per 100,000 live births.

“That is quite a significant number of women dying because of pregnancy related complications. So, this really is a business for all of us to get involved in recognising that we have a contribution to make to bring the numbers down,” Dr Silemesi said.