Cholera Outbreak Continues

As we move into February and the rains continue this rainy season, the cholera outbreak continues in Malawi. We are so thankful for our Clinical Officers who are working diligently to care for patients and for our Public Health staff who are traveling to rural areas to train and distribute chlorine for clean water.

Each day, between 3 and 5 patients are brought into the health center for treatment. Treatment includes receiving lots of IV fluids to stop the severe dehydration the main cause of death in cholera patients. We are thankful for our donors who have provided emergency supplies of IV fluids and for our district health office who is providing a steady supply of IV fluids and much more.

District Health officers consulting with our medical staff.

Patients in the cholera isolation ward. We are so thankful to have this building finished enough to set up this temporary ward. There’s no electricity or running water in the building currently, but at least it is a safe place and patients are receiving treatment.

Cholera hits young and old alike. I’m thanking Jesus for many lives saved during this outbreak. To date we’ve care for more than 157 patients. We did sadly lose the first patient brought in as our staff did not know what they were dealing with. Since then, every patient has been treated and discharged. Thank you, Jesus.

Our Public Health staff use drama to teach in the local communities about the disease and how to prevent it.

Our Clinicians join in on the teaching to teach local communities what symptoms to watch for and the importance of getting their patients to the health center without delay.

Public health staff demonstrate how to mix a chlorine solution to add to water and distribute the solution in local communities.

Thanks to our donors’ generosity, we’ve been able to hire a temporary medical technician to ease the burden at the health center in caring for patients. Welcome on board, Mr. Happy Nyrinda. We’re glad you are able to join our team.