Zimbabwean Cholera Outbreak

More than 1500 cases of typhoid have been treated in Zimbabwe with a rate of about 50 new cases per day. The outbreak seems to be centered in a Harare township. The outbreak has been believed to be caused by poor water and sanitation conditions because of the country's infrastructure being crushed under years of economic hardships. In the past three weeks no deaths have been reported but the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors believe that the government is not acting as quickly as it should and they also believe the outbreak could worsen and begin to spread.Typhoid, a disease that incubates over three weeks, has been traced to contaminated meat and fish sold by street vendors. Samples have tested positive for Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid.Harare's health director, Dr. Prosper Chonzi, has warned the continuing poor sanitation conditions could even lead to an outbreak of cholera.

In 2008-2009, more than 4,000 people died in a cholera outbreak blamed on a lack of water and the collapse of Zimbabwe's sanitation system. The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe had a high fatality rate due to the fact that people have HIV/AIDS and are malnourished. This epidemic was at first typhoid and then progressed to cholera.A major contributing factor to the severity of the outbreak is the collapse of Zimbabwe's public health system and by the end of November 2008, three of Zimbabwe's four major hospitals had shut down, along with the Zimbabwe Medical School, and the fourth major hospital had two wards and no operating theatres working.Due to hyperinflation, hospitals were not able to buy basic drugs and medicines, and the resources of even internationally-funded emergency clinics were stretched. Many are afraid this could happen again if the government does not act soon.