Alex Bell
6 January 2009
The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe appears to be worsening daily, with new figures showing the official death toll has climbed since last Friday.
The World Health Organisation on Tuesday reported the death count now stands at 1732, up from last week's total of just over 1600 deaths. The Organisation indicated that within a day, the number of deaths had risen by 27 on Monday, while the number of reported infections is now standing at more than 34 000 cases.
The figures are once again believed to be a tiny percentage of the real extent of the disease that has swept through all 10 provinces in crisis ravaged Zimbabwe. Although there is no way of knowing how many infected people have died in their homes or during the journey to the handful of treatment facilities dotted across Zimbabwe, medical experts had previously indicated that by December the unofficial count had already reached far beyond the 3000 mark.
And the crisis is far from over. Medical charities and aid organisations are said to be preparing for more outbreaks as the rainy season heads towards its peak in the coming weeks. Treatment still remains a luxury for the majority of people and it is widely believed that the worst is yet to come.
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Meanwhile, the disease continues to spread on a smaller scale in neighbouring South Africa, where the death toll as a result of the disease is confirmed to be 13. Nine people have died in the border province, Limpopo where thousands of Zimbabweans fled in recent months to seek medical care. A further 33 new cases reported during the past weekend in the province has brought the reported cases to more than 1400 since last November, while in the central Gauteng province, the number of confirmed cases has risen to 21. Three people have died in Gauteng because of the disease, and officials have been moving to allay fears that the outbreak there is out of control.
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