An 11-year-old girl has died from Typhoid in Shangai; a section in Mpika’s Tazara compound, where the waterborne disease has broken out.

Mpika district commissioner Moses Katebe confirmed that the child, who had been admitted at Chilonga Mission Hospital died on Sunday.

“I have been informed by a doctor at Chilonga Mission hospital that an eleven year old child of Shangai who was undergoing typhoid treatment at the mission hospital died on Sunday,” Katebe revealed.

Katebe attributed the disease outbreak to water shortages in the area following the breakdown down of a water pump at Malashi water source which forced residents to fetch water from contaminated shallow wells and streams.

Katebe advised residents to boil or chlorinate water before drinking.

The district commissioner further advised residents in the affected areas to avoid hand shake and hugging as the disease could be transmitted through contact.

Katebe told residents that Chambeshi Water and Sewerage Company had acquired a new water pump which would alleviate their challenges.

Residents in the area have been going without water supply from Chambeshi since February 2016.

Meanwhile, Katebe said the district administration was concerned with the sudden influx of visitors to the districts who were staying at various guest houses and lodges for long time conducting unknown activities.

He explained that since the district is a gateway to East African and Great Lakes regions, his administration has instructed hotel owners in the area to tighten up security by ensuring that all vehicles entering their premises were properly recorded for easy identification and tracing.