The toll of the cholera epidemic in Malawi has exceeded 1,000 deaths, and the number of cases has increased to 30,621, the highest recorded so far in the country, the Ministry of Health, Khumbize Chiponda, announced on Wednesday, according to Reuters, Agerpres reads.

Most of the deaths occurred in the main cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre, where children recently returned to school after schools delayed the opening of schools to try to control the spread of the disease.

Chiponda advised the population to handle the bodies of cholera victims with greater care before the funerals.

„The bodies of those who die of cholera are washed by family members, who then prepare the funeral ceremony… Cholera outbreaks usually break out following these ceremonies,” she said.

The minister recommended the population to follow the appropriate procedures for decontamination with chloramine and to use plastic bags for corpses.

Cholera outbreaks occur in the southern African country during the rainy season, which runs from November to March, but there has been an unusual spike in infections during and after the holiday season. The annual death toll usually reaches 100.

„The cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths since the beginning of the epidemic is 30,621 and 1,002, respectively, with a mortality rate of 3.27%,” said Chiponda.

Health officials said last week that several clinics in the country, which received 2.7 million doses of cholera vaccines as part of a WHO program, were starting to run out of stocks.

Contacted by Reuters, the Ministry of Health refused to comment on the vaccine stock.

Agerpres