Factors Associated With the Recurring Cholera Outbreaks in Sinazongwe District of Southern Zambia

Abstract

Objective: Possible risk factors associated with the recurring Cholera outbreaks in Malima and Nkandabbwe communities as well as know the available knowledge in managing and preventing the disease.
Methods: The data was derived from mixed methods of descriptive and analytical cross sectional design with both quantitative and qualitative data collection strategies employed. Analyses of potential risk factors were stratified by safe drinking water, safe waste disposal, knowledge levels and climatic variations. Data was presented in frequency tables. Chi square tests were done to determine possible associations. All variables that were significant multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to control for confounders.
Results: There was a statistical significance in terms of households hand washing with safe water as well as saving hot food [X² = 19.3783, df=4, P value = 0.001]. A range of variables from number of people in a household, occupation, main source of water, water treatment, reasons not treating water to knowledge about cholera were all found significant when X² tests were performed. However, after running the multivariate regression analysis test, only number of people in a household [coef =.0712297; Std.Err = .0263932; t=2.70; p=0.008; 95CI .0190736 - .1233858] and the main source of drinking water were statistically significant [ coef = -.0566683; Std.Err = .011744; t=-4.83; p=0.000; 95CI -.0798758 - -.0334607]. The rainfall patterns produced a correlation of 0.40000 was significant at p value 0.05. Though small, the correlation is significant and suggests that cholera cases vary with rainfall patterns for each year. Increased rainfall patterns may be associated with high numbers of reported cases.
Conclusion: Water treatment was found to be occasional and most household's access water from surface sources such as rivers, lakes and streams. Chlorine is well known for water purification but social marketing is lacking due to free distributions.