Online Reporter
Emmanuel Kafe
Fact Check Desk
EIGHT people died from common diarrhoea last month as cases continued to surge countrywide, with health authorities warning that increased travel, overcrowding and lapses in hygiene during the festive season were fuelling the spread of the disease.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s Weekly Disease Surveillance Reports for December, six deaths were recorded in the week ending November 16, 2025, while a further two were reported in the week ending November 30, 2025.
No deaths were recorded in the intervening week.
During the same three-week period, 16 467 cases were reported nationwide, bringing the total to eight deaths for the month.
The cumulative burden of common diarrhoea remains high.
As at the week ending November 30, Zimbabwe had recorded 317 023 cases and 166 deaths since the beginning of the year, underscoring the persistent public health challenge posed by the disease.
Children under the age of five remain the most vulnerable group, accounting for about 42 percent of reported cases during the period under review.
Provinces reporting the highest number of cases include Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and Manicaland.
Health facilities that recorded deaths in the latest reporting period include Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare.
Other fatalities were reported in Beitbridge District in Matabeleland South, Zvimba District in Mashonaland West and Gokwe South District in Midlands Province.
Public health experts say the seasonal increase mirrors patterns typically observed during the festive period, which is marked by heightened human mobility as people travel between urban and rural areas and across borders.
dyton mupawaenda