Courage Dutiro
Six cholera victims were reported to have been hospitalized in Masvingo province as of April 26, 2023, with Mwenezi and Chiredzi districts being among the cholera red zones in the country.
On the above-mentioned date, the province recorded the highest number of care cases followed by Midlands which had four hospitalized while Manicaland had two patients admitted in Mutasa district.
A situational report released by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) on April 26, confirmed that Mwenezi and Chiredzi were among those districts that recorded cholera cases in the country.
“As of April 26, 2023, 17 cases are hospitalized. These are admitted at: Beitbridge District Hospital CTC (3) in Mat South Province, Mutasa (2) in Manicaland Province, Mwenezi District (4), Chiredzi (2) in Masvingo province and Chirumhanzu (4) in Midlands province and BRIDH (2) in Harare province,” read part of the report.
The report also revealed that Masvingo province had 3 cumulative suspected cholera deaths and a single death.
Masvingo Provincial Medical Doctor (PMD) Dr Amadeus Shamhu said it is still difficult for him to comment on what could be the main reason behind such cases in those two districts because there is currently no district which can be said to be more prone to cholera than others.
“It is still difficult to comment before a proper tracking investigation is taken to find out where the index cases are from. No district in the province is more prone to cholera than the other. As of now, all districts are equally prone. In most scenarios there is a history of travel in cholera cases, for instance some people could have contracted the disease from gatherings in other areas,” said Dr Shamhu.
The first cholera case in Masvingo province was recorded in Chivi district and it is said the case had a history of travel from the Beitbridge zone.
In Manicaland province Buhera, Chimanimani, Chipinge, Mutare and Mutasa districts have been labelled as red zones.
Since its first recorded case in Chegutu town on February 12 this year, the acute diarrhoeal infection disease has been recorded in nine provinces of the country as of April 26 and 115 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported.
Besides causing havoc in Zimbabwe, the disease has also been reported to be taking lives in 14 African countries with the neighbouring Mozambique on the list of the most ravaged ones.
Masvingo and Manicaland provinces are on the border lines of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
According to a report released in March 2022 by the World Health Organization (WHO) Cholera is a diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if untreated.
The report also states that a global roadmap to 2030, with a target to reduce cholera deaths by 90percent was launched in 2017.
On April 26, 2023, MoHCC said the acute diarrhoeal disease had 4 laboratory-confirmed deaths and 14 suspected cholera deaths three months later from the first recorded confirmed death.
In a report released by WHO on December 2, 2008, Zimbabwe had recorded more than 400 cholera deaths from August 2008 as confirmed by the MoHCC.
“As of December 1, 2008, the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe has reported a total of 11 735 cholera cases with 484 deaths since August 2008, affecting all provinces in the country,” reads the WHO report.
According to a report released by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in October 2018, Zimbabwe officially declared cholera outbreak an emergency on September 12, after the disease wreaked havoc again in the country 10 years from the previous outbreak.
