Saturday, 23 November 2008 20:09
FOR the first time since The Standard reported that officials were covering up the magnitude of cholera deaths, government yesterday admitted the epidemic had claimed more people than officials were prepared to reveal.
Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa (pictured) said 281 people had succumbed to cholera during the period beginning September until last Friday.
Parirenyatwa revealed the figure to The Standard after the World Health Organisation announced that between August and last Tuesday, 294 had died as a result of cholera.
In a statement released from Geneva, WHO said 6 072 cases had been reported countrywide during the same period.
The government had tried to downplay the cholera outbreak insisting that less than 40 people had died in Harare, the epicentre of the epidemic.But Parirenyatwa, who has persistently told state media that government had brought the epidemic "under control", yesterday said he was "scared" by the extent of the outbreak.
"The official figures from the Ministry for the period between September and Friday night is 281 for the whole of Zimbabwe," he said. "We cannot be able to control cholera as long as there is no water."We are concerned about the unavailability of water and as the minister responsible for Health I am very scared, especially during this rainy season.
"Government officials have consistently put the death toll at less than 100 despite admissions that up to 40 people died in Beitbridge alone inside a week.
Who spokeswoman, Fadela Chaib, said there had been an upsurge in reported cholera cases during the past fortnight. The United Nations body warned that with the start of the rainy season, the outbreak was likely to continue as the water and sanitation situation was worsening.
Doctors without Borders has warned that 1,4 million people were at risk of contracting the disease. Collapsing sewer infrastructure and poor sanitation in urban areas have been blamed for the cholera outbreak. Doctors and donors say the country's collapsing health sector was failing to cope with the number of people in need of urgent treatment, resulting in more deaths. Gweru, Zvishavane and Kadoma also recorded fresh cases last week.The highly contagious disease also spread to Bulawayo, where it has claimed two lives.
The governor for Bulawayo, Cain Mathema, said by Friday the epidemic had reached Makokoba, Emakhandeni, Pumula and Nkulumane suburbs in the country's second most populous city.Cholera can be treated easily with a sugar and salt solution to replace lost body fluids.
Symptoms include watery diarrhoea and vomiting, which leads to loss of large amounts of body fluids.By Sandra Mandizvidza
No comments:
Post a Comment