Cholera has killed 24 people and infected more than 2,000 others in southern Malawi, where hunger is driving desperate villagers to eat contaminated food, health officials said on Monday. Blantyre, the eastern African nation s commercial hub, and the famous resort district of Mangochi are among the areas hardest hit by an outbreak of the disease, Secretary of Health Wesley Sangala told Reuters. At least 2,265 people have been infected, he said.

The outbreak began late last year and comes on the heels of a drought and subsequent severe food shortages that have left nearly half of Malawi s estimated 12 million people with little to eat. The crisis is particularly bad in the southern province. "We strongly suspect that people are rushing to eat food without washing with clean water because of hunger ... this could be the reason why we have a lot (of) people infected compared to the same month last year," said Habib Somanje, the ministry s head of preventive health services.

Somanje said the government in cooperation with the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) had set up mobile clinics in affected districts and sent drugs to curb the spread of the disease, which is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with human faeces.

Cholera, which typically causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration, is usually not fatal when treated promptly. Officials in Malawi, however, said they were concerned that many of those infected were not heeding this advice. "The most worrisome thing is that people affected are reporting late for treatment such that others die whilst at home," Deputy Minister of Health Charles Mchacha told Reuters.
(Planet Ark, 21/02/06)