At least 20 people have died of cholera in the Zambian capital of Lusaka since the outbreak of the waterborne disease in the country in October, health authorities said on Saturday.
Twenty-nine new cases of cholera were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 760 since the outbreak of the disease in Zambia, the Ministry of Health said.
Only 57 patients are currently receiving treatment in hospitals although most of them have already been treated and discharged, said Stanslous Ngosa, head of the Communications and External Relations in the ministry.
Ngosa added that the ministry has continued with control measures aimed at preventing the spread of the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the further spread of the waterborne disease with the coming of the rainy season.
The health ministry, in collaboration with other departments, has banned the sale of ready-to-eat foodstuffs on the streets in an effort to curb the epidemic.
Cholera mainly occurred in the densely populated slums in Chipata and Kanyama sub-districts of Zambia while isolated cases have also been reported in other parts of the country.
