Communities in Malawi are often very generous and share food with friends and neighbors. Traditional Malawian foods are usually eaten with the hands, and people in rural areas do not always have soap. As a result, diseases can spread easily as multiple people reach unclean hands into a shared bowl of food. Even if people wash their hands with soap, they often touch their mouths as they eat, and then reach back in for another handful, sharing germs Currently, there is a disease called cholera that is spreading quickly in Malawi. In fact, schools were closed for two weeks in January in an attempt to slow the spread of this sickness.
Malawi is currently experiencing a cholera epidemic. Cholera is a deadly disease that has already killed 1500 Malawians in the past year and infected over 50,000 Malawians. This is the deadliest cholera outbreak in the history of Malawi. When someone gets cholera, they have continuous vomiting and diarrhea, which causes them to become extremely dehydrated. If they do not get medical attention, or start rehydration treatments at home, they are at increased risk of death. Many people live far from hospitals and do not have access to medicine, so learning about how cholera spreads and how it can be prevented is important.
