Death of cholera in Zimbabwe at age 24, drug resistance: WHO

The toll of a cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has risen to 24 with front-line antibiotics struggling to treat the disease that has spread from the capital, said a report Thursday. World Health Organization.

"In total, 24 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the epidemic," the report said, with 23 deaths in Harare and one death in the Masvingo district in the south-east of the country.

"There is resistance to the first-line drug," he adds, with tests suggesting that ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone, antibiotic drugs, might be ineffective and that the alternative drug azithromycin was not available.

"The relevant drugs should be purchased urgently as soon as resistance patterns have been established," recommended the WHO and Ministry of Health status report.

The cholera outbreak, first detected on Sept. 5 in Glen View Township, outside of Harare, prompted the Ministry of Health to declare an emergency in the capital.

With 1,901 suspected cases to date, the disease has spread to other cities and rural areas of the country.

Authorities have banned public gatherings in Harare while Ministry of Health staff supervise the victims' burials.

The ban could affect a main opposition rally on Saturday, where the party planned a mock investiture for its leader Nelson Chamisa, who would have been deprived of his victory in the July 30 elections.

The WHO report indicates that health staff are facing shortages of drugs and intravenous fluids, sewer blockages, lack of protective clothing and irregular water supplies.

Cholera epidemics have regularly occurred in Zimbabwean cities where supplies of drinking water and sanitation are scarce.

Informal housing areas without running water have multiplied and basic infrastructure has collapsed due to years of neglect.

Tests in some wells and boreholes have shown that the water is contaminated by cholera and bacteria that cause typhoid fever.

Zimbabwe, led by Robert Mugabe since his independence in 1980 until his ousting last year, experienced his worst cholera epidemic in 2008.

In total, 4,000 people died and at least 100,000 people became ill.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe, is committed to fighting the current epidemic.

UNICEF advised Zimbabweans to prevent cholera from spreading by washing hands regularly, drinking only safe water, washing the food, cooking it thoroughly and by avoiding shaking hands.

The cholera outbreak, detected for the first time in a suburb of Harare, has spread to other cities and rural areas of the country.