Cholera Cases Spike as Health System Crumbles
On Tuesday, Zimbabwe reported 61 suspected cases, four confirmed cases of cholera and one suspected death.
The majority of the cholera cases reported on Tuesday were in Buhera district, the epicentre of the present outbreak, which had 47 cases.
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The other cases were reported in Chipinge which had six, Bikita three, Mutare City two, Zaka two and now Harare with one.
Yesterday, 40 new suspected cholera cases, one laboratory confirmed infection and one suspected death were reported. Buhera had 33, Chipinge three, Zaka three, and Mutare one.
As of yesterday, 78 cases are hospitalised at Bikita CTC 10, Chiredzi two, Zaka four, Buhera 45, Chipinge nine, Makoni one, Mutare one, Zvimba one, Mhondoro-Ngezi one, and Harare’s Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital four.
In a notice sent earlier this week, Harare City Council said five cholera cases had been confirmed in Hopely Zone 5, Stoneridge, Southlands, Granary, and Ardbennie, Mbare.
Harare City said three of the ill people had visited Buhera, but there could be infections contracted from local sources.
Harare residents yesterday said more could have been done by council to offer basic services like garbage collection and clean water provision to prevent the resurgence of the outbreak.
Mrs Shupikai Thompson from Mbare said the cholera outbreak in the city was a symptom of a collapsing service delivery system.
Cholera Cases Spike as Health System Crumbles
Cholera is a waterborne disease that spreads through drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium, which causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting.
Zimbabwe recorded the worst cholera outbreak in 2008 and the last major one in 2018.
The current outbreak began in February this year and since then, Government has been implementing multi-sectoral interventions to curb the spread of the disease.
So far, 4 609 suspected cases have been recorded with 935 as confirmed cases.
However, the recovery rate has been impressive, with 4 401 recorded as of yesterday while 30 confirmed deaths and 100 suspected deaths have been recorded.
A policy research working paper commissioned by the World Bank, says sanitation risk, poverty, sewer burst density and incidence of imported cases are all risk factors for cholera.
Most suburbs in Harare have been affected by burst sewer systems and non-availability of water for years due to the incompetence of opposition councils, exposing people to the preventable disease.
Mr Tendai Moyo said council should deal with raw sewage that continuously flows in many suburbs.
“Local authorities have a legislative and constitutional duty to provide potable water to residents,” he added.
Harare City deputy mayor Clr Kudzai Kadzombe said council had put in place measures to curb the spread of cholera.
