Zimbabwe cholera death toll now at 25

At least 25 people are now said to have died from cholera and the number of reported cases has risen to 3 766.

Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency in the capital and has banned public gatherings.

A graduation ceremony that was scheduled at the University of Zimbabwe tomorrow has been postponed indefinitely.

The government has allocated $1 million to the Harare City Council to help fight the outbreak.

The country’s largest mobile phone network Econet has pledged $10 million.

Wire reports say the World Health Organisation and the International Red Cross Society have joined in the fight.

The International Red Cross has deployed 1 000 volunteers to help contain the outbreak.

A WHO situation report said there is an urgent need for medicines as there seems to be resistance to the first-line medicine.

“There is resistance to the first-line medicine,” the report said. “Relevant medicines should be purchased as a matter of urgency as soon as resistance patterns have been ascertained.”

It also said the cholera outbreak had spread to five of the country’s 10 provinces and one of the deaths is reported to have been in Masvingo.

“When cholera strikes a major metropolis such as Harare, we need to work fast to stop the spread of the disease before it gets out of control,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement.

A decade ago, 4 000 people died from cholera and nearly 100 000 people were infected.

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