The Zimbabwean government has announced that the country is now free from cholera, with no new cases reported in the past 30 days.
During a weekly post-cabinet media briefing on Tuesday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere provided an update on the cholera situation in the country.
Muswere said Zimbabwe recorded its first cholera case in February 2023, which then spread to most parts of the country, leading to a declared national outbreak.
However, the minister noted that the country’s cholera burden is now officially over, with no new cases reported in all 63 districts. He said:
The Ministry of Health and Child Care would also want to inform the nation that as of today we have had 30 days without a single case of cholera in all our 63 districts and that the last case was on 30 June 2024 in Beitbridge.
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Therefore, we are now declaring that the cholera outbreak, which started in February 2023, as officially ended. However, the public is encouraged to continue observing hygiene and sanitation at all times.
The Minister of Health and Childcare Douglas Mombeshora urged members of the public to continue with good hygiene and sanitation practices. Said Mombeshora:
A lot of people relax when we say cholera is gone. What it means is that the interventions that we undertook as ministry and as government, those interventions have yielded the results that we wanted that is to make sure that we suppress cholera.
But we still have challenges of water and sanitation in certain areas. So, we urge our people to continue with good hygiene and sanitation practices.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness that can spread rapidly in areas with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water.
The disease is primarily spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water, such as water sources that have been polluted by faecal matter containing the cholera bacteria.
The main symptom of cholera is profuse, watery diarrhoea that can lead to rapid dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Other symptoms may include vomiting, muscle cramps, and rapid heart rate.
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