Johannesburg, South Africa (ADV) – The Zambian government confirmed that they have managed to arrest the measles outbreak with no new cases reported in the past three days.
The country has so far recorded 43 deaths of children.
A total number of 5426 children aged below the age of 15 have been immunised so far, while health education and identification of new cases in the affected communities has also been stepped up.
Lusaka Times reported that the affected areas include the Chief Chiundaponde’s area in Kanchibiya constituency of Lavushimanda district in Muchinga Province.
The Muchinga Province Health Director, Dr Nero Chilembo confirmed that two of the deaths was recorded at a health facility while the remaining 41 were recorded in the communities.
“Other fatalities were confirmed through the physical counting of graves in the community,” said Dr Chilembo, adding that his team has started conducting research, and they have embarked on a massive immunisation campaign with financial assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health.
He appealed to affected communities to quickly seek medical attention whenever they suspect any health problem.
The Kanchibiya Constituency Member of Parliament, Martin Malama, said the outbreak was due to lack quick medical response from health facilities.
“The area has one health post, located 60 kilometres away from the named villages, making it difficult for people to walk to and from, to have their children immunised,” said Malama, noting that the roads are currently closed due to heavy rains and the area can only be accessed by use of canoes and small boats.
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