700 dead from Zambia cholera outbreak as cases surge

Zambia has seen a surge in cholera cases since January 2024 with fatalities reaching 700, medical charity Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

The country has recorded nearly 20,000 infections since the outbreak started in October 2023. 

While at the beginning of the outbreak cases were restricted to Lusaka and Ndola , the two largest cities in Zambia, the disease has since spread to all provinces of the country with the potential to affect the entire southern Africa region.

Infections have already been reported in neighboring Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi.

Critics have accused President Hakainde Hichilema's government of a lack of a strong response strategy to counter the disease. A large soccer stadium in the capital city has been converted into a treatment facility.

In January, the ministry of health began a vaccination campaign targeting 1.5 million people in areas deemed to be at a high risk of transmission.

Cholera is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food and/or water. The largest number of recorded cases are in the capital city of Lusaka.