WHO said Zimbabwe cholera death toll of 1518 people

2008-12-27 09:20

By December 27 the World Health Organization Xinhua (WHO) 26, said, according to Zimbabwe informed the Ministry of Health, as of the Christmas date, the country's cholera death toll has increased to 1518 people; and the situation has not yet been controlled.

"Central News Agency" reported that the WHO pointed out that since this summer that the outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe, "the death rate has risen to 5.7 percent, much higher than the large-scale outbreak of the normal one percent", some rural areas, the fatality rate as high as Five-cheng.

Only on the 25th to the statistics, the number of deaths with a total of 26,497 cases, and in December 20 until the week on an increase of more than 5000 cases, more than the previous week. 10 provinces nationwide have reported cases, particularly in the capital, Harare (Harare) maximum.

WHO pointed out that Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed, did not enter the health care system upon the death of many patients, the current need to strengthen the case management and access to medical care of the pipeline, especially in the district there is an outbreak just increasing the use of oral replacement therapy (ORT).

WHO said that this wave of the epidemic there has been a sub-regional nature of Zimbabwe's neighbors in South Africa 1279 cases, including 12 people were killed; Botswana also has a number of cases.

WHO said that the current cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe from the lack of safe drinking water, unsanitary conditions, the decline of the health infrastructure, such as the reduction of medical care personnel, the advent of the rainy season makes the threat of increased.