Zimbabwe: 2011 Cholera

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/2009-10-20-voa42.cfm

Five Cholera Deaths Recorded In Zimbabwe Amid Fears of New Epidemic
By Sandra Nyaira
Washington
20 October 2009


Five deaths from cholera have been reported in the past week in the Zimbabwean provinces of Mashonaland West and Midlands, raising fears that the onset of the rains could lead to a repeat of the cholera epidemic that claimed 4,288 lives from late 2008 to mid-2009.

The five deaths resulted from 117 cases reported in Mashonaland West, Manicaland and Midlands provinces since last month. Masvingo province has also reported cases.

Health and Child Welfare Secretary Gerald Gwinji said Tuesday that most of the deaths and cases occurred among religious sects that do not accept medical treatment.

Health experts have warned that with the rainy season just beginning around the country, cholera could get out of hand if safe water has not been made widely available.

Spokeswoman Tsitsi Singizi of the United Nations Children's Fund told Sandra Nyaira of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the government and international or non-governmental aid agencies are doing all they can to prevent a repeat of last year's deadly epidemic.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/article163099.ece

Diarrhoea outbreak in Zim
Oct 22, 2009 10:14 PM | By Moses Mudzwiti

There has been an upsurge in diarrhoea in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, but health authorities yesterday denied the city was experiencing a fresh outbreak of cholera.

Deputy Minister of Health Douglas Mombeshora denied there was an outbreak of cholera in Harare, but admitted that 16 cases had been confirmed in other parts of the country, and that there had been at least five fatalities.

Clinics around the capital recorded a higher than usual number of complaints of stomach ailments. Many of these cases have been attributed to unsafe tap water.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.africanews.com/site/Five_die_of_cholera_in_Zimbabwe/list_messages/28760

Five die of cholera in Zimbabwe
Posted on Tuesday 22 December 2009 - 10:15
Sanday Chongo Kabange AfricaNews reporter in Lusaka, Zambia

Five people have been killed in Zimbabwe after a fresh wave of cholera broke out in some parts of that country. About a years ago, a wide spread cholera outbreak killed over 500 people after Robert Mugabe's administration failed to provide basic water and sanitation services.

An awareness cholera sticker seen at UNICEF water tank. Because of the ongoing water shortage ordinary people are forced to use water from unprotected wells. Photo by Shepherd Tozvireva

Most of the people that died were women, children and the aged, who could not fend for themselves at the height of a protracted political and economic standoff between Mugabe? ZANU PF and Morgan Tsivangirai?s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

A latest epidemiological survey conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that five people have died out of the 146 new cases of cholera recorded by WHO and that country?s Ministry of Health.

Available data say new cholera cases in the southern African state were detected in nine of the 56 districts, mostly the high density rural and semi-urban areas.

The data also shows a decline in the number of areas affected compared to the same time in 2008.

A widespread outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases caused the deaths of more than 4, 200 people from the 100,000 cases reported last year and early this year.

?146 cumulative cholera cases and five deaths were reported by 13th December 2009 to the World Health Organisation through the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare,? indicates the latest epidemiological report.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200912240249.html

The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe:'Cholera Outbreak Under Control'

24 December 2009

Harare ? THE cholera outbreak reported in Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces in September is under control, the World Health Organisation has said.

Speaking at a Press conference in Harare recently, WHO country representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said for the past two weeks, no cases of cholera were reported countrywide with the number of affected people remaining at 146 and five reported dead.

However, there has not been any new cases recorded in the past four weeks.

Dr Mandlhate was, however, quick to point out that last year's cholera outbreak peaked during the festive season as there was a lot of travelling from urban to rural areas.

"We appeal to all people travelling to be very hygienic so as not to carry cholera bacteria from one place to another.

"The period that we are in now (festive season) is the same period which contributed largely to spreading of cholera last year due to travelling and the rains," Dr Mandlhate said.

According to WHO, since September nine out of 62 districts in the country have been affected by the outbreak compared to 44 districts during the same period last year.

The case fatality rate since the outbreak started stands at 3,4 percent.

By last year, 17 908 cases and 877 deaths had been reported with a case fatality rate of 4,9 percent.

"The cases reported this year are 0,8 percent of last year's cases, whilst the deaths are 0,6 percent of last year's deaths.

This year's case fatality rate is lower than last year's by 1,5 percent," reads WHO's weekly bulletin.

According to WHO 80,1 percent of the cumulative cases this year are from rural areas while the remaining 19,9 percent are from urban areas compared to last year's scenario of 77,6 percent cases from urban areas and 22,4 percent from rural areas.

Last year, Zimbabwe experienced the worst cholera outbreak, which killed over 4 000 people and affected close to 100 000.

Lack of clean water and adequate sanitation precipitated last year's outbreak.

However, these conditions remained the same this year as most suburbs ran dry throughout the year.

According to Government, health workers were better prepared this year resulting in timely response to all outbreaks recorded this year.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=14119&cat=1

Friday, January 08, 2010
Three treated for cholera in Kadoma

Herald Reporter

AT least three cholera cases have been confirmed in Kadoma while 10 other suspected cases are still being investigated.

However, no deaths have been recorded so far as the affected people were treated and discharged.

In an interview this week, Mashonaland West provincial medical director, Dr Wenceslas Nyamayaro, confirmed the outbreak, but said it was under control.

?There has been an outbreak in Kadoma, but it is not in the scale of last year?s outbreak. Our officials are on top of the situation,? he said.

Dr Nyamayaro said the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and other stakeholders were mounting awareness campaigns and activating their structures to contain any surge in the cases.

?It is common to have cases of cholera during the rainy season so we are not worried and we are currently in the process of putting our officers on the alert,? he said.

At least two people died in Chinhoyi last year from suspected cholera.

In 2008, Zimbabwe experienced the worst cholera outbreak which killed over 4 000 people and affected close to 100 000.

Lack of clean water and adequate sanitation precipitated the 2008 outbreak. According to Government, health workers were better prepared this year resulting in timely response to all outbreaks.

Dr Nyamayaro, however, warned people against the possibility of a malaria outbreak due to high temperatures experienced during the protracted dry spell.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87828

ZIMBABWE: Cholera keeps a low profile

HARARE, 21 January 2010 (IRIN) - A year ago Zimbabwe was immersed in one of the continent's worst ever cholera outbreaks, and more of the same was expected in 2010, but the waterborne disease has so far kept a low profile.

The cholera epidemic that began in August 2008 and lasted for a year before it was officially declared at an end in July 2009 caused the deaths of more than 4,000 people and infected nearly 100,000 others.

The 2008-09 outbreak was attributed to dilapidated and broken sanitation and water infrastructure, much of which is still in the same state, raising the fear that the 2009-10 rainy season would bring a resurgence in cases.

Cholera, a waterborne bacterial disease, infects the gastrointestinal system, causing vomiting and diarrhoea that can lead to acute dehydration; left untreated, the disease can kill within 24 hours.

In its latest epidemiological bulletin the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported 149 cholera cases, resulting in five deaths, between September 2009 and 10 January 2010, vastly lower figures than for the same period a year previously: by January 2009, 1,912 people had died and more than 37,000 cases reported.

This season the case fatality rate has dropped from 5.1 percent to 3.4 percent - still higher than the expected average of about one percent. Ten of the country's 62 districts have been affected by the current outbreak, compared to 51 districts last year, the WHO bulletin said.

The distribution pattern of the disease in 2009-10 has also shifted, with 82 percent of cases emanating from rural areas and the balance of 18 percent from urban areas. During the 2008-09 outbreak, 66 percent of cholera cases occurred in urban areas and 34 percent in rural areas.

In 2008-09 the capital, Harare, was the epicentre of the epidemic; in the working-class suburb of Budiriro, 30 strains of cholera were detected and all water sources in the area were contaminated, but in the last few months WHO has reported only six cases in the capital, and no deaths.

The breakdown in water infrastructure and failure to collect refuse, coupled with a collapse of sewage systems that caused raw sewage to spill onto city streets, and the shallow wells dug by residents to access ground water, provided ideal conditions for the disease to breed and spread.

The threat of cholera usually recedes as the rainy season tapers off, but in 2008-09 it stubbornly continued ratcheting up its death toll, well after the rains had ended.

Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda told IRIN the 2008-09 outbreak had caught them by surprise, but "the cholera epidemic prepared us for another outbreak, in the sense that there are a lot of strategies and structures to combat any outbreak."

He noted that "Our health department's clinics throughout Harare are ready to deal with any cases that may arise. The residents are now more informed on how to avoid or react to reports of cholera cases."

Water disconnections

With a few months of the current rainy season still remaining, the Harare municipality has begun disconnecting water supplies to residential homes for non-payment, despite protests by some homeowners that they have been billed for services they did not receive or use.

"We are disconnecting water because we want better service delivery, and that is what we want to provide. We have done this before and we do not want a situation that would undermine the capacity of the council," the Harare municipality spokesman told a local newspaper.

"People need treated water and for us to offer them treated water, they must fully settle their bills." The disconnections contradict national government instructions that residential water supplies should not be disconnected for non-payment.

Water Resources minister Sam Sipepa Nkomo told IRIN: "We will engage the mayor of Harare and the municipality, because our position as government is that there should be no disconnections and that payment methods can be varied, like having residents pay in instalments."

go/dd/he

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

‘Zim cholera fatality rate still too high’

by Own Correspondent Friday 29 January 2010


HARARE – Zimbabwe's cholera fatality rate of 1.8 percent is still higher than the recommended international threshold although overall infections of the deadly water borne disease are declining, according to a report by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The epidemiological report released Wednesday said 10 out of the country’s 62 districts have been affected by the cholera outbreak that started on September 7 2009, compared to 51 districts at the same period last year.
According to the report, 49 cumulative cholera cases and five deaths were reported by January 24 2010 to the WHO through the Health Ministry’s National Health Information Unit.
"The crude case fatality rate since the outbreak started stands at 3.4 percent. By week three last year, 43 672 cumulative cases and 2 290 deaths had been reported, with a crude case fatality rate of 5.2 percent.
"For the same reporting period the cases reported this year are 0.3 percent of last year’s cases, whilst the deaths are 0.2 percent of last year’s deaths.
"This year’s case fatality rate is lower than last year’s by 1.8 percent although it is still higher than the recommended 1 percent threshold."
The epidemiological bulletin compiled by the Health Ministry and the WHO provides a weekly overview of the outbreaks and other important public health events occurring in Zimbabwe.
It includes disaggregated data to inform and improve the continuing public health response by the various partners. It also provides guidance to agencies on issues relating to data collection, analysis and interpretation, and suggests operational strategies on the basis of epidemiological patterns so far.
The cases reported so far came from Bindura, Chegutu, Chipinge, Gokwe North, Gokwe South, Harare, Kadoma, Makonde, Rushinga and Seke.
The affected districts are in the following six provinces namely: Harare, Manicaland, Midlands, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West.
Fifty-eight (38.9 percent) of the cumulative cases were reported by Manicaland, followed by Midlands with 57 cases (38.3percent) and Mashonaland West which had 22 cases (14.8percent). Mashonaland West province has the highest number of districts affected by cholera.
The report said 82 percent of the cumulative cases were from rural areas and the remaining 18 percent from urban areas compared to the corresponding week last year when urban areas had 66 percent of the cases and rural areas had 34 percent.
The report said by week ending January 24, 253 cumulative probable cases of the deadly pandemic H1N1 (2009) had been reported in Zimbabwe, 41 of which were confirmed to be the pandemic.
A cholera epidemic that coincided with a doctors strike killed 4 288 people out of 98 592 infections between August 2008 and July 2009.
Health experts have warned that Zimbabwe’s humanitarian situation remains precarious and that the same problems that helped drive the last cholera epidemic remained unresolved, with six million people or half of the country’s total population of 12 million people with little or no access to safe water and sanitation.
Aid agencies say they were on standby to respond to an expected surge in cholera cases this year with the cash-strapped power-sharing government of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe seen struggling to cope in the event of a major outbreak.
The new Harare government has promised to rebuild the economy and restore basic services such as water supplies, health and education that had virtually collapsed after years of neglect and under-funding.
But the administration has found it hard to undertake any meaningful reconstruction work after failing to get financial support from rich Western nations that insist they want to see more political reforms before they can loosen the purse strings. – ZimOnline


http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=5650

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Detailed map here;

http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/fullmaps_af.nsf/luFullMap/2B375AF3C9F68DCC852576BA006ADD34/$File/map.pdf?OpenElement
large file 3.3MB

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002110895.html

uideWho We AreContent ProvidersAdvertisingMy AccountMyAfricaBiztechSustainablePeaceMobile

The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: 5 Cholera Cases Hit Beitbridge, Health Officials on High Alert

11 February 2010
Harare ? Five cholera cases have been confirmed in Beitbridge district and health officials are on high alert to curb the spread of the disease.

Matabeleland South provincial medical director Dr Gordon Bango on Tuesday confirmed the outbreak but no deaths had been recorded.

He said the situation was under control and they were using International Organisation for Migration premises as a cholera isolation centre.

One patient was admitted at Beitbridge Hospital on February 3 and another three cases were still under investigations. The other patient is from the border town's main police station.

The district hospital can handle 1 000 cholera patients, while the Doctors Without Boundaries have enough equipment to cater for 625 people.

?We are on high alert and we don?t want to repeat our past mistakes, where a number of lives were lost across the district as a result of the epidemic.

?We have since notified our national cholera command centre in Harare,? said Dr Bango.

The majority of the cases, he said, were of people in transit and they had roped in police support to deal with illegal vendors who foment outbreaks by selling contaminated food.

?The area of Garikayi has no sanitation facilities. The four boreholes in the suburb are not reticulated and the sewer system is still incomplete.

?The health services team also felt that the border post needs to be controlled. At the present moment there are illegal food vendors? outlets that should be closed.?

During the last cholera outbreak 548 lives were lost in Beitbridge district alone, while about 5 000 cases were reported.

The project coordinator for Doctors Without Boundaries in Beitbridge, Dr Crisitian Ghilardi, said preliminary investigations revealed that 113 cases had been reported in Mwenezi District.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/2010021528784/health/cholera-resurfaces.html

Cholera resurfaces
Written by The Zimbabwean
Monday, 15 February 2010 06:52

HARARE ? The World Health Organisation says cholera has resurfaced in Zimbabwe after a month-long lull in an outbreak that has so far killed five people and infected nearly 150 others.

The WHO said seven new cholera cases were reported Harare, Mwenezi, Mount Darwin and Shamva districts since the outbreak resurfaced on February 4.

One of the confirmed cases was from Kuwadzana Phase Three in Harare while three others were Mwenezi in Masvingo province.
One of the confirmed Mwenezi cases was treated in Beitbridge.

Shamva recorded two cholera cases between February 4 and 7 while an unconfirmed case was reported in Mount Darwin, also in Mashonaland Central province.

The case treated in Beitbridge was linked to a funeral at one of the farms in Mwenezi district while another case was attributed to having eaten unwashed mangoes in Beitbridge.

Zimbabwe?s cholera outbreak had subsidised since the first week of January when figures stood at 149 cumulative cases and five deaths.
The resurgent outbreak, which is concentrated in rural areas where 82 percent of the cases have so far been reported, raises fears of more deaths particularly as the mango season is upon the country.

Mangoes and other fruits are regarded as dangerous transmitters of the cholera bacteria since some people often ignore health precautions and eat the fruits without washing them.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201002170009.html

The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Nine Die of Diarrhoea in Mwenezi
George Maponga
17 February 2010

Nine people have died of severe diarrhoea caused by suspected food poisoning in different parts of Mwenezi District, while health officials are investigating eight cholera-related cases in the area.

Masvingo provincial medical director Dr Robert Mudyiradima yesterday said the nine deaths were reported in Lapache, Umbono and Nyahombe communal lands and were linked to suspected food poising.

The cholera cases were also reported in the same communal areas.

Dr Mudyiradima said they had dispatched teams of experts to the affected areas to assess the situation.

"There was an outbreak of diarrhoea in Mwenezi, which claimed nine lives but the outbreak was linked to suspected food poisoning because we failed to get positive results for cholera when samples were tested.

"However, of late there has been an outbreak of cholera in these areas, with eight cases having been identified so far. We have dispatched teams of experts to assess the situation.

"The cholera cases were reported in Umbono, Nyahombe and Nuanetsi Ranch in Mwenezi District," Dr Mudyiradima said.

He said the situation was, however, under control as health officials had started disinfecting wells.

"We are doing all that we can to make sure that the situation is under control and at the moment we have been disinfecting several wells in areas affected by the outbreak.

"The situation is under control at the moment," he said.

Besides Mwenezi, suspected cholera cases have been reported in the Zaka area.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=120562

Zimbabwe ? Health ? Cholera
Fresh outbreak of cholera affects 100 people in Zimbabwe, says WHO


APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) A resurgent cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has so far infected about 100 people and claimed three lives since it was detected last November, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports here Sunday.

The UN agency also reports that more than 30 others have been infected by a typhoid outbreak that has hit a poor suburb of the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

About 99 cholera cases have been reported in seven of Zimbabwe?s 62 districts over the past four months, according to WHO.

The figure is however significantly lower than the more than 90,000 cases that had been recorded around the same time at the height of another outbreak that ended in July last year.

An outbreak of typhoid fever has been reported by the Harare City Health Department in the suburb of Mabvuku in the eastern part of the city.

?A total of 32 cases and 5 deaths were reported by 7 March, 6 samples were laboratory confirmed to be Salmonella typhi,? WHO said.

The typhoid outbreak is blamed on the perennial water shortages in Mabvuku.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Source: http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-06-16-cowdray-park-residents-fear-cholera-outbreak

Cowdray Park residents fear cholera outbreak
FORTUNE DLAMINI-MOYO - Jun 16 2010 21:16

Residents of Cowdray Park in Bulawayo occupying houses built under the previous government?s Operation Hlalani Kuhle/Garikai are facing serious water shortages which may lead to another cholera outbreak.
Two years ago cholera claimed thousands of lives.
About five years ago, the government built 750 houses in that suburb to resettle people displaced by the disastrous clean-up exercise dubbed Operation Murambatsvina, but never installed reticulation systems resulting in residents resorting to the bush for lack of ablution facilities.
The residents have also been forced to fetch water from unprotected sources posing a serious health hazard.
One of the affected Cowdray Park residents, Nomqhele Sibanda, said:
?I have lived here since these houses were built and there has never been any water or reticulation system. We have no choice but to relieve ourselves in the bush.?
The Councillor for Cowdray Park, Collete Ndhlovu, said the water crisis had become so dire that the local authority was now considering shouldering the responsibility of supplying water to avoid a catastrophe.
An engineer at Bulawayo City Council said the only immediate solution would be for the residents to buy the necessary water pipes and other equipment while council would provide technical assistance.

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Death toll from Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak rises to 775
2008-12-11 11:51:28 CRIENGLISH.com

Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak has claimed 775 lives and affected some 16,000 as of Wednesday.
Aid agencies have warned about coming rains further spreading cholera in a population already weakened by disease and hunger.

Elisabeth Byrs, Spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, said the real danger lied in the Cholera outbreak spreading to impoverished neighbouring countries like Zambia and Mozambique.

"We are worried about the regional dimension. There are already some cases in Botswana and of course in South Africa but those two countries can cope with the situation. We are more worried if this outbreak crosses the border to Zambia or Mozambique, because they don't have the infrastructure to cope with a major outbreak if that was the case."

Cholera has spread in Zimbabwe because of the country's crumbling health care system and water infrastructure.

Last week, Zimbabwe declared a health emergency because of cholera and the collapse of its health services.


http://english.cri.cn/4026/2008/12/11/1481s431789.htm

 

[alert]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera cases 10/20+

Death toll from Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak rises to 775
2008-12-11 11:51:28 CRIENGLISH.com

Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak has claimed 775 lives and affected some 16,000 as of Wednesday.
Aid agencies have warned about coming rains further spreading cholera in a population already weakened by disease and hunger.

Elisabeth Byrs, Spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, said the real danger lied in the Cholera outbreak spreading to impoverished neighbouring countries like Zambia and Mozambique.

"We are worried about the regional dimension. There are already some cases in Botswana and of course in South Africa but those two countries can cope with the situation. We are more worried if this outbreak crosses the border to Zambia or Mozambique, because they don't have the infrastructure to cope with a major outbreak if that was the case."

Cholera has spread in Zimbabwe because of the country's crumbling health care system and water infrastructure.

Last week, Zimbabwe declared a health emergency because of cholera and the collapse of its health services.


http://english.cri.cn/4026/2008/12/11/1481s431789.htm

I believe this is a recycled story.

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera 16,000 cases, 775 fatalities

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera 16,000 cases, 775 fatalities

oops! thanks, alert. Popped up in today's newsfeed from MedISys, I should have checked the date.

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Cholera hits Chiadzwa
TANGAI CHIPANGURA/THOMAS KWARAMBA - Jul 29 2010 09:40

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A cholera outbreak has erupted in the highly militarised Chiadzwa diamond fields sparking fears of an epidemic amid reports that 78 people have been admitted into hospitals in Mutare, NewsDay can exclusively reveal.

Hundreds were reportedly flocking to makeshift emergency health camps following an outbreak of the deadly and highly contagious cholera epidemic in the area amid a tense stand-off between security personnel cordoning off the diamond fields and the surrounding community.

According to the Health and Child Welfare ministry the outbreak was detected last Sunday.

Provincial Medical Director for Manicaland Dr Milton Chemhuru yesterday confirmed the outbreak but said the pandemic had not reached crisis levels.

Tents had been set up at camps scattered around Chiadzwa diamond fields said Chemhuru. He said not more than 10 people had been admitted there.

?Yes, there is an outbreak, but my staff is very good at controlling the disease and I am sure we are in control of the situation,? Chemhuru said. ?We have taken in 79 patients at Mutare district centre situated in the Chiadzwa area but no deaths have been reported. Camps have been set up where tents have been pitched to take in patients.?

Chemhuru said there was another outbreak in other parts of the province, such as Buhera. Cholera treatment camps had been set up at Zangana, Chapinduka, Mutiusinazita and Gunura, he said.

Health minister Henry Madzorera said he was not yet aware of the outbreak because he only received bulletins from the provinces once a week.

?Call the PMD (Provincial Medical Director),? the minister said. ?He is the man on the ground and would be able to give you the details you want. I only get bulletins once a week and I have not received any for this week.?


Local Government deputy minister Sesel Zvidzai also confirmed the outbreak and said his ministry, which handles issues to do with civil protection, had been alerted and was positioning itself to deal with the pandemic.

He said government had received reports of villagers, mostly children, having been struck by the disease in the past few days.

?We have received information of outbreak of cholera in Marange and we are working with health officials to try and curb the disease,? Zvidzai said last night. ?The disease outbreak started three days ago and at least 78 people have been taken to hospitals and clinics around the province.?

The virulent disease had, according to the minister, not claimed any lives yet, but had caused panic among the villagers who were yet to be resettled after the government took over their area following the discovery of diamonds. Zvidzai said the biggest challenge that health authorities faced was that the area was very sensitive because of the diamonds and the security measures in place there.

It was difficult for non-govermental oganisations to penetrate the area to help improve the sanitation conditions in the area where villagers were said to be drinking contaminated water from diamond explorations.

?The biggest challenge in the area is the presence of the army,? Zvidzai said. ?We will put up camps outside the security area so that people can access health facilities quickly in order to curb the spread of the disease.?

Chemhuru however said he had not received reports of his staff having any limitations in their operations in the cholera plagued areas.

?I cannot speak for other organisations but my staff has not reported any problems with the security situation in Chiadzwa diamond fields,? Chemhuru said.

Zvidzai said his ministry had been spurred on to action by the 2008 cholera pandemic that claimed more than 4 000 lives and affected over 100 000 people countrywide.
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-29-cholera-hits-chiadzwa

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009150139.html

The Herald (Harare)
Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Cholera Kills One in Chiredzi

15 September 2010

Harare ? One person died of cholera in Chiredzi and Ministry of Health and Child Welfare officials have moved in to contain the disease that has affected four more people in the area.

Health officials suspect the affected people contracted the disease in Chipinge District in Manicaland Province where they were attending a church service. The ministry has come up with contingency measures to stem the spread of cholera in Chiredzi town where four cases were reported and referred to Chiredzi District Hospital.

The cholera outbreak was reported in Tshovani Township. Masvingo provincial medical director Dr Robert Mudyiradima yesterday confirmed the outbreak but said the situation was under control. Dr Mudyiradima added that all the suspected cases were reported at Chiredzi Hospital where one death was reported...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Source: http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/inde...hiadzwa&catid=69:sunday-top-stories&Itemid=30

Cholera kills 19 ... epicentre at Chiadzwa Print
Written by Vusimuzi Bhebhe
Saturday, 25 September 2010 13:44
cholera_patients4HARARE ? Zimbabwean health officials have been placed on high alert amid reports that at least 19 people have died from a fresh cholera outbreak whose epicentre is at the controversial Chiadzwa diamond mine. (Pictured: Victims of cholera epidemic that hit Zimbabwe between August 2008 and July last year.)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last week that the latest outbreak has so far affected 18 of the country?s 62 districts compared to 54 districts at the same time in 2009.

?Cumulative cholera cases stood at 753 with 669 suspected and 86 laboratory confirmed cases, while 19 deaths had been reported by 29 August 2010,? the UN agency said.

The hardest hit areas are Beitbridge, Bindura, Buhera, Chegutu, Chivi, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Chiredzi, Harare, Hurungwe, Kadoma, Masvingo, Makonde, Mount Darwin, Mutare, Mwenezi, Nyanga, Plumtree and Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe.

More than 70 percent of the cases currently reported are from rural areas...

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Re: Zimbabwe: Cholera

Cholera Outbreak Looms In Harare

16/10/2010 14:10:00


Harare, October 16, 2010 - Cholera outbreak is looming in Harare's Warren Park suburb as the city council is failing to collect garbage in the area.

So serious is the problem that the refuse has been accumulating in the streets for the past two months.
...

Christine Kasango said the situation was worse in Mbare where she resides and her reasons were that it is because it is a high density surbub.
...

In 2008 grave diggers at Granville Cemetery ended up digging 300 graves a fortnight as compared to the usual 45.

In 2008 the cholera outbreak affected more than 100 000 people and killed 4 000 countrywide.

Some residents have resorted to burning their own trash.

Full text:
http://news.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/4688-cholera-outbreak-looms-in-harare.html