AT least two people have died from what is suspected to be Cholera in Mt Darwin while 26 others have been hospitalised, HealthTimes can reveal.
By Michael Gwarisa in Mt Darwin
The suspected cholera cases are emanating from a mining community of Mukaradzi, 25 kilometres outside Mt Darwin town.
Briefing Journalists, Mt Darwin District Nursing Officer (DNO), Mrs Anna Chinyemba said they started receiving cases on Sunday all from the same epicentre.
“We are having a diarrhoeal problem, people are presenting symptoms of what we suspect to be cholera. The people are coming in vomiting and having nonstop running tummies. The people are coming from Mukaradzi, a mining community.
“We are trying our level best to treat them. We can’t confirm it is cholera as yet but we are waiting for results which will come tomorrow but the signs point to cholera. We now have 26 patients we are attending to and most of the affected are males,” said Mr Chinyemba.
She added that two people have died already with first causality having died on Sunday on his way to the hospital while the other one died in the institution. She also attributed the cases to unhygienic practices at the mining community which include vending and improper handling of food.
“The people in Mukaradzi might not be getting clean water, and there could improper sanitary facilities such as toilets.
“Some vend in the area as well. As an institution, we might say we are prepared but we might need assistance since our cases are going up every day.”
If confirmed to be Cholera, the Mt Darwin cholera outbreak comes hot on the heels of another epidemic which ravaged Harare in the past few months where at least 30 lives were lost and 50 others infected.
During the Harare outbreak, a few cases were also recorded in some remote parts of the country which include Gowkwe, Buhera and some parts of Masvingo.
