LUSAKA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- According to Zambian health authorities, 672,100 people in three districts battling a cholera outbreak have received oral cholera vaccines.

Minister of Health Elijah Muchima said on Monday that the vaccination exercise was conducted in the districts of Chililabombwe and Kitwe in Copperbelt Province as well as Nakonde in the northern part of the country.

"Vaccination has been another key pillar to our effective intervention, contributing to the reduction in cases being reported in these communities and reducing the severity of cholera cases being reported," he said during a press briefing.

According to him, a total of 133,525 doses of oral cholera vaccine have been administered in Chililabombwe, 200,878 doses in Nakonde, and 337,697 in Kitwe, and the remaining 1,262,303 doses would be deployed to any identified hotspots.

He said the government, devoted and resolute to the health and well-being of its people, is actively addressing the current cholera outbreak and other public health threats in the country.

The cumulative number of cholera cases in Zambia has reached 301 following three new cases recorded from Feb. 26 to March 2, with two cases recorded in Lusaka, the country's capital, and one in Chililabombwe, said the health minister.

He added that three patients were discharged during the same period, bringing the total discharges to 289, while the death toll stands at nine. Enditem

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