City confronts cholera threat

Tanaka Mahanya

HARARE needs to address water and sewer challenges to deal with the threat which cholera poses, City Epidemiologist, Michael Vere, has said.

There have been concerns about water and sewer challenges in some parts of the capital.

People fear that contaminated drinking water, and burst sewer pipes, will affect efforts to deal with cholera.

Addressing the media yesterday, he said some water sources in Harare are not safe.

“There is consumption of water from shallow wells and boreholes.

“People assume that boreholes are safe but what we have noticed in Harare is that some of the boreholes are contaminated, and these can be sources of cholera or typhoid.

“Underground water can be contaminated by leakages from dilapidated sewer systems which leads to contamination of water sources, including boreholes.”

He also addressed the issue of vaccination against cholera.

“However, this is not a permanent solution, as it only gives a window period of three years.

“Vaccines will not eliminate cholera.

“Harare is partnering with other organisations to improve the water situation and reduce the number of chemicals that are needed to treat the water.

“We can never be fully prepared, but we are doing our best.

“We have done assessments of our clinics and hospitals for preparedness and we have addressed some of the major gaps.”

He said there were 11 suspected and three confirmed cholera cases in Harare.

“The first case was recorded in Budiriro and the patient did not have any history of travel to the cholera hotspots.

“We have, however, strengthened health education related to cholera in the western parts of Harare.

“If we do not address these issues, it will be difficult to eliminate cholera.”