Cholera interventions begin to bear fruit

Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe has recorded slight decreases in cholera incidence over the past week, showing the effectiveness of interventions being undertaken to arrest the spread of the deadly water-borne disease.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere told a post cabinet media briefing on Tuesday that slight decreases were recorded in hotspots of Mutare rural and Buhera districts in Manicaland, where the first cases were recorded in the latest outbreak to hit the country.

“The nation is informed that as at 30 November 2023, Zimbabwe’s cumulative suspected cholera cases were 9 895, with 9 466 recoveries and 53 confirmed deaths. Harare Metropolitan province, with 607 cases, recorded the highest number of cases during the period 24 to 30 November, 2023,” he said.

“This represented a decrease by 98 cases from the cases recorded the previous week. Similarly, slight decreases were recorded in the number of cases in the Mutare Rural and Buhera Districts of Manicaland province. The case fatality rate decreased to 2.2 percent. The decreases in cases and in the case fatality rate are due to prioritized and targeted interventions in the three hotspots.”

Dr Musere said Oral Rehydration Points manned by community health promoters are being set up in communities to bring services closer to the people, while training in case management and rapid response using workstations are ongoing.

He said health education on cholera prevention and control measures, including hygiene promotion, is ongoing in all the country’s provinces.

Cabinet, he said, emphasized intensified school health education on cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases, improved water, sanitation and hygiene in communities, as well as continued intensification of risk communication and community engagement, including the involvement of religious and local leadership in the fight against the disease.

New Ziana