Zimbabwe: Diarrhoea cases triple in 2011, 110 fatalities reported.

[Ronan Kelly]

Kwekwe in panic mode
BLESSED MHLANGA, OWN CORRESPONDENT | KWEKWE - Jul 13 2011 16:48

The local authority here has deployed more than 40 health workers in Mbizo, Amaveni and other high-density suburbs to curb the spread of a fatal diarrhoea outbreak which has so far claimed the life of at least one person in the town.

In a report presented to council last week, Kwekwe City Council?s director of health Phyllis Gochera said the city reported a 52% increase in cases of diarrhoea, which shot from 140 reported cases in May to 213 last month.

The report also indicated that one child had succumbed to the disease at Amaveni Clinic.
An official in the health department said council suspected the outbreak was caused by a virus called rotavirus although laboratory tests were still being carried out.

?We have carried out tests on stools of those affected, but we have not detected any pathogens because our labs are only equipped to detect viruses, not bacteria.

?We have since sent samples to Harare for tests although we suspect it could be the rotavirus,? said the official who declined to be named.

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http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-07-13-kwekwe-in-panic-mode

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Zimbabwe: Diarrhoea outbreak in Kwekwe city, 13 fatalities in children

Re: Zimbabwe: Diarrhoea outbreak in Kwekwe city, 13 fatalities in children

Source: http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-11-08-diarrhoea-outbreak-claims-13-children

Diarrhoea outbreak claims 13 children
BLESSED MHLANGA, OWN CORRESPONDENT - Nov 08 2011 17:41

KWEKWE ? A diarrhoea outbreak has hit the City of Kwekwe with 104 cases having been recorded from October 26, the Environmental Health Department (EHD) has revealed. That represents a sharp increase from last month?s figure of 59.

Of the 104 cases 13 children aged up to two-and-half years are reported to have died, while others were treated and discharged at most council clinics in the high-density suburbs of Mbizo and Amaveni.

The local authority and the EHD are jointly investigating the cause of the outbreak and have since sent stool specimen of the affected children for assessment in Harare to trace the viral strain causing the outbreak.

According to minutes of a Health Departmental meeting of October 31, Health Services director Phyllis Gochera underscored the need for health education. An official in the department confirmed young mothers were failing to take care of their sick children...

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Zimbabwe: Diarrhoea outbreak in Kwekwe city, 13 fatalities in children

Re: Zimbabwe: Diarrhoea outbreak in Kwekwe city, 13 fatalities in children

Zim diarrhoeal cases triple
by Staff reporter
2011 December 01 10:22:09 | 140 Views


REPORTED diarrhoeal cases throughout the country have tripled this year compared to last year affecting mostly children under five years, a Cabinet Minister has said.

Speaking to journalists during a media briefing yesterday Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera said a total of 228 936 cases and 110 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the year.

He said children below the age of five years account for 60 percent of these cases.

"In 2011, national health statistics indicate a threefold increase in diarrhoea activity. We note from our statistics that common diarrhoea affects mostly the under five-year -olds," Dr Madzorera said.

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http://www.bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-health-byo-9697-article-Zim+diarrhoeal+cases+triple.html