The Sunday Mail
Shamiso Yikoniko
At least 300 people countrywide have succumbed to waterborne diseases since January, a decline of almost 79 percent compared to 536 deaths recorded over the same period in 2014.
According to the Health and Child Care Ministry’s surveillance report for week 25, at least 250 000 cases of waterborne diseases were recorded between January and June 2015.
The figure is at least 54 000 lower than 304 380 cases recorded from January to June last year.
The decline has been attributed to lower rains received this year and improvements in water supplies, especially in Harare.
Common diarrhoea, typhoid, dysentery and cholera are the major waterborne disease killers.
Health Ministry director for epidemiology and disease control Dr Portia Manangazira said: “Waterborne diseases are a culmination of a number factors such as quality of water, state of water channel equipment and cleanliness of containers used for water storage.”
According to the 2015 week 25 surveillance report, Manicaland and Midlands provinces were hard-hit by dysentery, while typhoid affected many people in Harare.
Common diarrhoea was mostly recorded in Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces.
Harare City director of health Dr Prosper Chonzi said while the number of cases was declining, the figures were still high.
“If people are faced with erratic water supplies, they tend to look for alternatives that are usually unsafe, and the water-borne diseases are perpetuated by poor water quality and quantity.”
The country adopted a National Water Policy in 2013 to improve equity in access to freshwater by all Zimbabweans, as well as efficient use of the resource.
4 major water borne diseases
Diarrhoea is the passage of loose or liquid stools more frequently than normal
Dysentery is an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Typhoid is transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with stool of an infected person. This happens in conditions of poor sanitation, and poor supply of clean water.
Cholera is an infection of the intestine by the bacterium vibrio cholera. Symptoms range from large amounts of watery diarrhoea that lasts a few days, vomiting and muscle cramps.
