Latest on typhoid outbreak

after 111 others were treated in the two towns by Wednesday.
The typhoid outbreak has been attributed to water woos which continue to worsen in both towns.

Harare City Council director of health services Dr Prosper Chonzi said the city recorded 42 cases of suspected typhoid yesterday, with most of them testing positive.
Chitungwiza had nine more cases yesterday, after recording 83 by Wednesday.
“Cases are still rising and majority of them are testing positive,” Dr Chonzi said.

Dr Chonzi said suspected cases were being recorded from all areas of Harare, with the majority of them linked to a supermarket in the Avenues area.
“We do not know where these people have been to and they could have been spreading the bacteria to other people in areas where they come from,” Dr Chonzi said.
He said for that reason, the city council was closely monitoring the situation and ready to respond to any cases.

Acting director of health for Chitungwiza Mr Herbert Chiroodza said the main challenge was the provision of clean water to residents.
“We still do not have water and people continue to use the same wells believed to be contaminated because there is no other source of drinking water,” Mr Chiroodza said.

Areas affected in Chitungwiza are Seke’s Unit L and M.
Mr Chiroodza said council intends to drill two more boreholes in the affected areas to decongest the overwhelmed existing boreholes.

Typhoid does not affect animals and can only be transmitted from humans to humans, therefore careful food preparation and washing of hands are crucial to prevent typhoid.

Symptoms of the disease usually develop one to three weeks after exposure.

Typhoid is characterised by slowly progressing fever, reaching as high as 40 degrees Celsius, profuse sweating and non-bloody diarrhoea.
Untreated typhoid fever manifests itself through a headaches coughing, nose-bleeding and abdominal pains.