Thu, 20 Oct 2016 12:20:49 +0000 ABOUT eleven million Zambians are at risk of contracting the deadly Elephantiasis disease, an ailment that causes extreme swelling in arms and legs if nothing is done by government, Parliament heard yesterday. Elephantiasis refers to a parasitic infection that causes extreme swelling in the arms and legs. The disease is caused by the filarial worm, which is transmitted from human to human via the female mosquito when it takes a blood meal. Delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament yesterday, Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said in Zambia about 11 million people were living in districts that were endemic to the disease and were therefore at risk of contracting the disease it if nothing was done. Dr Chilufya said the prevalence rates from the survey which was done in Zambia in 2013 and 2021 revealed that certain districts had rates as high as 53 percent such as Kalabo district in […]
