LUSAKA, June 19 (Xinhua) — Health authorities in Zambia on Wednesday refuted reports of an outbreak of typhoid in Lusaka, the country’s capital.
The denial followed reports on social media that there was an outbreak of the waterborne disease in some shanty compounds of Lusaka.
But Kalangwa Kalangwa, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said the reports were untrue and urged people to refrain from spreading unverified information that could cause unnecessary panic.
“This follows a thorough investigation and review of surveillance and laboratory trends, an exercise that has since dispelled a purported typhoid epidemic in the district,” he said in a statement.
He further said the ministry will remain alert to any public health threat through its disease intelligence and surveillance system, adding that the systems were designed to promptly detect infectious diseases.
The spokesperson said multisectoral public health teams are constantly implementing public health measures, including water quality monitoring, sanitation efforts and vaccination programs, which are critical to preventing the spread of typhoid and other waterborne diseases.
