Davis & Shirtliff has said the country needs to step up its disinfection capacity to combat the rising risk of cholera in the country amid the ongoing floods.
More than 8,459 cholera cases and 150 deaths have been reported in 10 out of 21 countries of Eastern and Southern Africa Region since the beginning of 2018. These countries include Kenya, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
A recent UN report shows five counties including Siaya, Tana River, Garissa, Turkana and Tharaka Nithi have reported new cholera cases between January and this month.
‘’Cholera is spread through contaminated food and water, and the lack of proper disinfection mechanisms means the cholera bacteria can easily spread throughout the country,’’ said Davis & Shirtliff Technical Director Philip Holi.
Of the ten affected African countries, Davis & Shirtliff says Zambia’s strategies to contain the spread of cholera can be emulated across the region.
‘’Zambia reported over 2900 cholera cases including 67 deaths in the last six months alone, prompting the government to institute a number of measures to curtail the disease. The Zambian government has made it mandatory that every borehole must be fitted with a chlorination system and the Klorman Unit has become quite popular as an innovative system for continuous, controlled practical dosing of chlorine into water systems,’’ added Holi.
According to Holi, the unit is one of the most economical and simple to install. “Going by Zambia’s case, Klorman is extremely reliable and totally effective and presents the ideal solution for continuous disinfection of household, community, agricultural, sewage and commercial water supplies where constant treatment is required in applications without external power or experienced operators,” he said.
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Zambia has also rolled out a cholera vaccine as a measure designed at ensuring that the uninfected maintained their status to support their disinfection campaign.
Chlorine treatment of water is proven in its ability to kill disease-causing organisms; remove odors, slime, algae growth and other contaminants.
