Zimbabwean cholera death toll rises to 16

Photo: New Zimbabwe

The disease has since spread to the Midlands province in Gokwe North where four cases linked to the Harare outbreak have since been isolated.

A visit to Glen View in Harare by The Herald witnessed residents of the area queueing to be tested and treated, while others were receiving two bars of washing soap each, water treatment tablets and two 20-litre containers.

Residents interviewed said the outbreak was as a result of the local authority's failure to consistently supply running water, as well as failure to collect garbage.

Harare City Council health director Dr Clemence Duri said in an interview that authorities were continuing to monitor the affected areas through response teams deployed since last week.

"The death toll has risen to 16 after more people died of suspected cholera," he said.

"Although we are not yet sure of the cause of death, we are suspecting it is cholera because of the symptoms presented.

"As of today (yesterday) 106 people were admitted at Beatrice Infectious Diseases Hospital. Some of the patients were being treated and discharged. We have also decommissioned all boreholes in Tichagarika area (Glen View), after they were exposed to bacteria which causes cholera and typhoid."

Dr Duri advised residents of the affected residential areas to present themselves early to health officials as they were being treated for free.