Cholera cases now exceed 80 000 mark
February 20, 2009
Cholera patients in a clinic in Harare's Glen View suburb.
By our correspondent
THE number of cases affected by Zimbabwe’s outbreak of cholera has now exceeded the 80 000 mark, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Friday.
The death toll since the outbreak began last August reached 3 759 out of a total of 80 250 cases on February 19, according to the latest update by the WHO and Zimbabwe’s Health Ministry.
That compared with 78 882 cases and 3 712 deaths recorded on Tuesday.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said there were still problems with the health delivery system in Zimbabwe, where the country’s ravaged economy and spiralling inflation have particularly affected the earnings of health workers.
The WHO is continuing talks with partners to find ways of providing financial encouragement for health workers, she told journalists.
Earlier this week, the medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) called on Zimbabwe’s authorities to lift restrictions on humanitarian workers and criticised the state of the health delivery system.
The widespread cholera outbreak, under-resourced and under-staffed health system, and inadequate access to safe drinking water and hygiene are threatening the wellbeing of thousands of Zimbabweans.
So bad is the situation that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has established a cholera control and command centre, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and other health partners, to respond in a coordinated manner to Zimbabwe’s health challenges. WHO said it was seeking donor support for its cholera response plan.
Approximately half of cholera cases have been recorded in Budiriro, Glen Norah and Glen View, heavily populated suburbs in the western outskirts of the capital, Harare. Other major concentrations of reported cases include Beitbridge, on the South African border, and Mudzi, on the border with Mozambique.
The outbreak could surpass 100 000 cases, according to an estimate by the Zimbabwe Health Cluster, a group coordinated by WHO that comprises health providers, non-governmental organizations and the MoHCW.
The estimate is based on six million people, or half of Zimbabwe’s 12 million population, potentially being at risk of contracting cholera, with an estimated 1 percent of those at risk of actually suffering from cholera.
With the current rainy season there are risks for the further spread of cholera if strong measures are not taken.
To make matters worse, panic has set in. Many Zimbabweans are fleeing their country, bringing cholera to the neighboring countries of Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. There are also serious regional implications, with cholera cases crossing into South Africa and Botswana.
In December, South African health authorities said the country had recorded 460 cholera cases and nine related deaths, mostly in areas bordering with Zimbabwe. Botswana said it recorded 234 and eight related deaths.
What has been done? The Zimbabwe health ministry’s answer to the cholera outbreak was to shut off the public water supply in Harare, since it did not have the foreign currency to buy chemicals to ensure that the water supply was clean. Aid groups such as World Vision and Oxfam, and UN agencies such as UNICEF have taken up some of the slack by distributing food and water purification tablets, but these are stop-gap measures at best. This is a very sad state of affairs, particularly in light of the lack of food and sometimes shelter for the people of this impoverished nation.
Most of the people infected by the bacteria that causes cholera suffer mild diarrhea or no symptoms. Less than 10 percent of persons infected with the El Tor biotype of Vibrio cholerae O1 have illness requiring treatment at a health center if they are adequately hydrated. However, if full blown cholera strikes in geographies where medical personnel are not acquainted with modern treatment methods, many people might die.
Cholera also causes fluid loss. It is described as a violent gastro-enteric illness. Cholera patients should be evaluated and treated quickly. With proper treatment, mostly consisting of rehydration, even severely ill persons can be saved. Prompt restoration of lost fluid and salts is the primary goal of treatment. Delays can be fatal.
The symptoms of moderate to severe cholera are the hallmark profuse, watery diarrhea (sometimes referred to as “rice water stool”) leading to dehydration, nausea and vomiting, muscle (particularly the legs) cramps, restlessness, irritability, signs of severe dehydration (such as dry mouth and tongue, thirst, “tenting” of loose skin, and altered mental status up to unconsciousness.
The major cause of the cholera outbreak is the inadequate supply of clean drinking water and poor levels of hygiene. Shortages of medicines, equipment and staff at health facilities throughout the country are compounding the health challenges.
WHO is advocating for improved access to oral rehydration salts for treating moderate dehydration, which is a symptom of cholera. This could help quickly reduce sickness and deaths.
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To the millions of Zimbabweans who continue to support Robert Mugabe do you think that he and his governments bear any responsibility for the spread of cholera in Zimbabwe?
Do you think that people in Zimbabwe would not be getting cholera if he had paid more attention to the water you drink and to the sewage running in your streets?
The death toll since the outbreak began last August reached 3 759 out of a total of 80 250 cases on February 19, according to the latest update by the WHO and Zimbabwe’s Health Ministry.
Now here is the juicy part – Ignatious CHOMBO, the author of that scourge, is back in government ! In what capacity ? Local Rural and Urban Government, where he will once again play a decisive role on the operational budgets of municipalities ! Very daft !