RSOE EDIS: Zambia - Epidemic Hazard - 2010.03.23

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

2010-03-23 11:51:44 - Epidemic Hazard - Zambia EDIS CODE: EH-20100323-25430-ZMB Date & Time: 2010-03-23 11:51:44 [UTC] Area: Zambia, Capital City, , Lusaka !!! ALERT !!! Number of death person(s): 12 Number of Infected person(s): 694 Not confirmed information! Description: Cholera killed at least 12 people in Zambia's capital Lusaka after floods caused by torrential rains contaminated drinking water, a health ministry official said on Tuesday. Health Ministry spokesman Rueben Mbewe said 562 cases of cholera were recorded in Lusaka out of 694 reported cases across the southern African country last week and most of the sick came from areas hit by serious flooding. "The floods have worsened the situation in that this has caused the flooding of pit latrines causing the effluent to... mix with drinking water," Mbewe said. Mbewe said authorities were providing chlorine to help people purify drinking water. The government said last week that eight people had died earlier this month after drowning and hundreds more were displaced by floods. Officials at the Kariba dam on the border with Zimbabwe were forced to open flood gates, increasing the chances of more downstream flooding on the Zambezi river in Mozambique. Mozambique is already on flood alert - one level below declaring a disaster. The name of Hazard: Cholera Species: Human Status: Confirmed Posted:2010-03-23 11:51:44 [UTC] Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu