Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-Zimbabwe has been witnessing an upsurge in the number of communicable diseases since the turn of the year with a reported 11 deaths and thousands of treated cases as the socio-economic conditions begin to take their toll.
The statistics pertaining to these issues have not been publicly availed as officials have sort to deal with the rise without public attention and also to maintain their standing.
Since January over 1000 cases of typhoid, 500 of dysentery and 4500 of diarrhoea have been treated at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
A desegregated analysis of results shows that children under five have been the most affected with over 4000 of the over 4500 affected by diarrhoea being under five.
A study of the situation by officials revealed that the chief causes of the rise in communicable diseases cases is due to erratic water supply, poor waste collections themselves a result of broken down trucks.
An official speaking during a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) workshop said councils were facing challenges acquiring vehicle parts from outside the country.
Vending has also been cited together with drug resistance and the prevailing socio-economic conditions.
“(For Dysentry) most cases were recorded in February, March and April with 34% of cases were below the age of 5years and 5 deaths were reported”.
“Most cases (for diarrhea) were recorded in February, March and April and Harare reported the highest number of cases, followed by Chitungwiza and Bulawayo”.
“For Typhoid, most cases reported between February and June with 27% of the cases affecting under-fives, and 6 deaths were reported”, the report says.
Zimbabwe has previously faced challenges with communicable diseases as the cholera epidemic struck in 2008 with 98,592 cases of cholera and 4,288 deaths were reported, making this the largest outbreak of cholera ever recorded in the country.
One official said the continued presence of these diseases is a sign of poverty in the country.
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