Tanzanian authorities order fishing stopped indefinitely in Lake Rukwa

Sumbawanga. District authorities in Sumbawanga District have ordered all fishing activities in Lake Rukwa to be stopped for an unknown period following a cholera outbreak in the area.

District commissioner Halfani Haule said this when addressing residents of Mtowisa and Muze wards here.

According to him, since the outbreak at least eight people out of 165 hospitalised for suffering from cholera have died.

He said that it was imperative that all fishing activities in the lake should be immediately suspended including all fishing camps where the route of the problem started.

“I order all activities related to fishing in and around the lake to stop. We must control the spread of this disease. People keep ignoring health rules including having good toilets and washing hands before and after eating,” he said.

He also ordered health personnel to set up camps near the lake and educate people on best hygiene and sanitation practices.

Earlier, district’s chief medical officer Fani Mussa said that since the outbreak of cholera in the region 53 days ago, a total of 165 people have been hospitalized due to the disease and eight of them died.

He said that they have taken several steps to combat the disease including taking 15 different samples that proved to be the cause of the disease and therefore managed to distribute medicine and medical equipment’s to control it.

He said that the people have also been educated on the importance of adhering to health standards including drinking boiled water and hand washing.

He noted that 14 people out of 58 that were arrested for going against the heath rules including not having toilets having been sentenced to three months in jail.