More than 100 people in the Zimbabwean capital Harare and Chitungwiza, a dormitory town 35km southeast of the city, have contracted typhoid this month, and the dilapidated water and sanitation systems are again being blamed for another round of water-borne diseases. According to health officials cited in the local media, 83 cases of typhoid have been confirmed in Chitungwiza and a further 28 in Harare, of which 25 were linked to a supermarket in the Avenues area of the city centre. Portia Manangazira, the chief disease control officer in the Health Ministry, told IRIN that in June 22 cases of suspected cholera, 10 of which were confirmed, were reported in Chiredzi – a town in Masvingo Province close to neighbouring South Africa – and one confirmed case of cholera was reported in Manicaland Province, which borders Mozambique. “We are monitoring the situation very closely to make sure the cholera does not spread. The health sector is on high alert,” she said. A year-long outbreak of cholera in 2008 killed more than 4,000 people and infected about 100,000 others and since then there have been regular outbreaks of waterborne diseases in both urban and rural areas. In January 2012 about 900 Harare residents were diagnosed with typhoid, but no fatalities were recorded.
- RSOE EDIS
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