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symptoms.
“We are worried that there could be carriers out there,” he said.
A carrier acts as a medium of transmission of a disease without showing any signs and symptoms or knowing that they have the disease.
Dr Mombeshora took a swipe at councils for being reactive to situations.
He said Harare City Council should have instituted measures to ensure that diseases do not spread through creating a clean environment and enforcing by-laws.
“As such, council should close everything that is not in order until the right structures for healthy business are in place.
“We cannot allow a situation where people can do what they want in the name of enterprises when ultimately they will suffer,” he said.
The deputy minister was responding to allegations that the move by health authorities to close down Mereki open food market would prejudice the “poor” who wanted to eke out an honest living.
He said such people would be the most affected by an outbreak and urged the city fathers to strengthen their surveillance systems.
Dr Mombeshora said council delayed in notifying Government on the outbreak of diarrhoeal diseases.
He said there were 16 typhoid cases that were confirmed in the laboratory locally and in South Africa, adding that the rest were based on clinical diagnosis.
Studies have shown that the outbreak was being fuelled by vendors while some water sources, including boreholes drilled during the 2008 cholera outbreak, were contaminated.
He urged people to practice hygiene.
Online Reporter