Zimbabwe: cholera outbreak makes two statements at Mount Darwin

Two people died of cholera, while 26 others were admitted to Mt Darwin District Hospital because of waterborne illness. Sister Anna Chinyemba, a nurse from Mt Darwin District, confirmed that one person died Sunday, while another died yesterday morning.

Sister Chinyemba said all cases had been reported in the artisanal mining area of ​​Mukaradzi. The Ministry of Health and Child Care has since convened an urgent meeting to combat this deadly disease.

"We have a cholera problem that erupted on Sunday," Sister Chinyemba said.

"Until now, we have 26 patients who have been admitted to Mt Darwin District Hospital.We have two deaths so far." The other patient who was touched is died while going to the hospital and another patient died yesterday in the hospital.

"The affected people are artisanal miners in the Mukaradzi mining area, we are trying everything we can to help the victims, we are still investigating the origin of the cholera, we have sent samples to the laboratory to make sure that it's fine to treat it as such. "

The World Health Organization has since announced the establishment of a cholera treatment camp at Mount Darwin, as a reinforcement.

The Mukaradzi mine is 25 kilometers from Mount Darwin and there is concern that the disease may spread to other neighboring districts such as Bindura.

"We think the outbreak could have been caused by poor sanitation because most of the mining activities in the area are illegal," Sister Chinyemba said.

"The area is crowded with artisanal miners and illegal sales are practiced.The area has no sources of drinking water.Most affected are men."

Sister Chinyemba said that the government was making frantic efforts to try to fight the disease and prevent a possible spread in its surroundings.

"Although we, as a hospital, are ready to deal with cholera, it seems that this number may increase and we will soon be overwhelmed," she said.

"We will need help and strengthening of public authorities to strengthen our staff and drug stocks, and we urge people in the district to adopt good hygiene practices to prevent cholera. populations to report cases of diarrhea and abdominal disorders quickly to avoid loss of life "

When the Herald visited the hospital, cholera patients were not isolated or decontaminated, which seriously threatened the health of other patients and health staff.