Zimbabwe is facing an 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� outbreak of cholera as a result of the deteriorating infrastructure in the country.
At the time of writing, there had been .
Zimbabwe鈥檚 capital, Harare, is the worst affected area, where there have been 4697 suspected cases and 108 deaths.
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The local Ministry of 91色情片 has described the outbreak as 鈥渢he biggest ever in Harare鈥�. The town of Beitbridge, which borders South Africa, has also been badly affected, with 2287 suspected cases and 74 deaths, while new outbreaks are currently cropping up in the north, east and south of the country.
M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res that up to 1.4 million people are at risk if the outbreak continues to spread. Both MSF and the have teams on the ground in Zimbabwe, which are helping to provide treatment.
Cholera is endemic in some rural areas of Zimbabwe, but was relatively rare in urban areas until recently. The last major outbreak was in 1992, when there were 3000 cases.
Run-down infrastructure, burst sewage pipes, water shortages, and a lack of trained sanitation workers are forcing people to dig unprotected wells, and defecate in public areas, increasing exposure to this water-borne disease. The onset of the rainy season may flush yet more sewage into unprotected wells.
鈥淐holera, which used to occur in 10-year cycles, has been occurring annually [in Zimbabwe] since 1998,鈥� says a spokesman for the WHO. 鈥淐urrently the country is facing an unprecedented outbreak.鈥�
鈥淚t is a constant challenge to keep up with increasing patient numbers,鈥� says Vittorio Varisco, an MSF logistician. 鈥淲e are running out of ward spaces and beds for the patients.鈥�
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Zimbabwe says that the outbreak is also taking a regional dimension. Reports from the South African Ministry of 91色情片 confirm the detection of suspected cholera cases in Botswana, following earlier reports of cholera cases in South Africa.
