The death toll from Malawi’s cholera outbreak has increased to 750 as the number of new infections jumped by nearly 600 in a single day, Health Minister Khumbize Chiponda said on Wednesday.Chiponda said in a statement that the country reported 589 new cases in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning while 17 deaths were registered during the same period.  

“The cumulative confirmed cases and deaths reported since the onset of the outbreak is 22,759 and 750, respectively,” Chiponda said. 

The bulk of the new daily infections were reported in the second city Blantyre, with 117 cases, followed by the capital Lilongwe (106), Balaka (90) and Mangochi (76), she said.

Lilongwe recorded the highest number of daily deaths with seven fatalities. 

The outbreak has spread to all of Malawi’s 29 health districts since the confirmation of the first case in March 2022 in Machinga district. 

Cholera is an intestinal infection resulting in rice watery diarrhoea and vomiting. If a patient is not treated properly and quickly they can lose water from their body leading to dehydration.