Zambia shuts Hungry Lion restaurants over cholera contamination
Zambia has shut three of South African retailer Shoprite’s Hungry Lion fast-food restaurants after their food tested positive for the bacterium that causes cholera, a government minister confirmed.
Zambia is struggling to contain an outbreak of the disease, which has killed 51 people and made more than 2,000 others ill in the capital Lusaka.
The outbreak was initially linked to contaminated water from shallow wells but investigations indicated that contaminated food was the main culprit.
Local government minister Vincent Mwale said inspectors had found contaminated food at three Hungry Lion branches in Lusaka.
“We suspect that some food handlers in these food outlets may be coming from parts of the city that are the epicentre of the disease.”
The outbreak was initially confined to densely populated parts of Lusaka with poor sanitation, but has now spread to lower-density areas.
