2023–2024 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak | |
---|---|
Disease | cholera |
Source | vibrio cholerae |
Location | Zimbabwe |
Index case | Malawi |
Date | 12 February 2023 |
Type | diarrhoeal disease |
Confirmed cases | not set |
Suspected cases‡ | >20,000 [1] |
Hospitalised cases | 109 (outdated) |
Deaths | 370 |
Fatality rate | <1.85% |
‡Suspected cases have not been confirmed by laboratory tests as being due to this strain, although some other strains may have been ruled out. |
A cholera outbreak started in Buhera District, Manicaland, Zimbabwe. The outbreak is thought to have started on 12 February 2023. [2] [3] As of now it has a geographic coverage of 45 out of 62 districts.
First cholera case was reported in Buhera District in Manicaland on the 12 February, 2023. The Ministry of Health and Child Care reported that there were 152 recorded cases and 12 deaths reported in August 2023 alone in Buhera. It was also reported in Hwedza District in Mashonaland East. [3] As of 5 October 2023, the suspected cases and deaths were at 4609 and 100 respectively, confirmed at 935 cases while death toll at 30. [4] On the 17 November 2023, the central government announced a state of emergency in Harare metropolitan. [5] It now have a geographic coverage of 45 out of 62 districts.
In response to the outbreak, the Zimbabwean government imposed restrictions on gatherings; funeral attendees were limited to 50 people, and no food could be served. People were advised to avoid physical contact and social events, as well as to maintain proper hygiene. [6] [7] Zimbabwe banned large gatherings in October in response to outbreak. [8]
Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawayo provinces, Manicaland is Zimbabwe's third-most densely populated province. Manicaland was one of five original provinces established in Southern Rhodesia in the early colonial period. The province endowed with country's major tourist attractions, the likes of Mutarazi Falls, Nyanga National Park and Zimbabwe's top three highest peaks. The province is divided into ten administrative subdivisions of seven rural districts and three towns/councils, including the provincial capital, Mutare. The name Manicaland is derived from one of the province's largest ethnic groups, the Manyika, who originate from the area north of the Manicaland province and as well as western Mozambique, who speak a distinct language called ChiManyika in Shona.
Buhera District is a district in Manicaland Province, in eastern Zimbabwe.
The 2008 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak was an epidemic of cholera affecting much of Zimbabwe from August 2008 until June 2009. The outbreak began in Chitungwiza in Harare Metropolitan Province in August 2008, then spread throughout the country so that by December 2008, cases were being reported in all 10 provinces. In December 2008, The Zimbabwean government declared the outbreak a national emergency and requested international aid. The outbreak peaked in January 2009 with 8,500 cases reported per week. Cholera cases from this outbreak were also reported in neighboring countries South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zambia. With the help of international agencies, the outbreak was controlled, and by July 2009, after no cases had been reported for several weeks, the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Welfare declared the outbreak over. In total, 98,596 cases of cholera and 4,369 deaths were reported, making this the largest outbreak of cholera ever recorded in Zimbabwe. The large scale and severity of the outbreak has been attributed to poor sanitation, limited access to healthcare, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure throughout Zimbabwe.
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Zimbabwe was once a model functional healthcare system in post colonial Africa, boasting a strong primary healthcare system and skilled healthcare workers under the Mugabe administration. In 2008, Zimbabwe had a 76.9 billion percent inflation rate and this worsened the state of the healthcare system which has not recovered today and is relying mostly on donor funding to keep running.
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