/ 5 March 2015

Cases of cholera found on Zim, SA border

Residents of Hatcliffe Extension in Harare fill their buckets from a pond
Museveni is the only president most Ugandans have known in a country where the median age is less than 16. (AFP)

Zimbabwe has confirmed eight cases of cholera, including two on the border with South Africa, state media reported on Thursday.

Two children, aged five and 10, had been quarantined with cholera at Beitbridge District Hospital, the official Herald reported.

Six other cases had been recorded in Mudzi and Chiredzi, the state Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said.

Mudzi is on the border with Mozambique, where 41 people have died of cholera. Chiredzi is in south-eastern Zimbabwe.

Zambian border
Another possible case was being investigated in Chirundu on the Zambian border, the report said.

Beitbridge district administrator Simon Muleya told the Herald: “The two victims are from the same family and according to our rapid response team there are no other cases from the same village.

“The situation is now under control and there is no need for people to panic,” he said.

The children were reportedly in a stable condition in the Cholera Isolation Centre of Beitbridge District Hospital.

Cholera killed more than 4 000 people in Zimbabwe in late 2008 to early 2009. The disease spreads particularly fast during the rainy season through contaminated food and water. – Sapa