Eastern Province has been recording an average of two hundred suspected dysentery cases every week this year.
This came to light during the Provincial Epidemics Preparedness, Prevention, Control and Management meeting in Chipata yesterday.
Provincial Surveillance Officer, Jordan Banda says that Chipata so far has recorded the highest number of suspected dysentery cases with five hundred and twenty nine cases.
He says that compared to the same period last year, there has been a big reduction in the number of suspected dysentery cases being recorded.
Mr. Banda explained that last year, the province used to record about 400 suspected cases per week.
Mr. Banda says that the measures the districts have put in place to eradicate cholera have also helped in reducing the number of suspected dysentery cases in the province.
He says even though the province has had a number of suspected dysentery cases, only a few of those have been tested for confirmation.
And speaking during the same meeting, Lundazi District Health Officer, Davy Zulu, says the ministry faces challenges in confirming dysentery cases because fecal samples for suspected cases must be tested within a day.
He says testing the fecal matter within a day is not possible, as most suspected dysentery cases come from far areas and the samples usually reach the hospitals labs after the viability of the sample has expired.
Dr. Zulu says there is need for more labs to be constructed in hospitals to ensure that samples reach hospitals in good time.