In southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa and Mozambique have all had recent cholera outbreaks.
The World Health Organization previously warned that the risk of large-scale outbreaks is increasing due to climate change, which has made tropical storms that limit access to clean water and sanitation more common.
“Cholera thrives in poverty and conflict but is now turbocharged by climate change,” Inas Hamam, a regional spokeswoman for the World Health Organization, said in November 2022. “Regional and global health security is in jeopardy.”
Cholera transmission has been linked to seasonal trends in rain, and especially extreme weather events such as abrupt and heavy rainfall, alongside warming temperatures which increases the growth of the bacteria.
The Malawi outbreak began in districts hit by Tropical Storm Ana and Tropical Cyclone Gombe.
The outbreak, which was the country’s worst in decades, killed more than 1,600 people with over 51,000 cases recorded.
Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/zimbabwe-cholera-lockdown-infections-zaka-harare-africa/
Author :
Publish date : 2023-10-09 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.