Typhoid kills five in Nyanga

Samuel Kadungure Health Reporter
A SEVERE typhoid outbreak has plagued Nyanga, killing five children in separate incidents and this week left at least 20 Regina Coeli Mission students hospitalized as the bacterial and water-borne disease continues to wreak havoc in the poorly sanitized district. Typhoid is a bacterial water-borne disease transmitted by the intake of food or water contaminated with faeces of an infected person.

Many schools and communities in Nyanga have poor sanitation and poor supply of clean and safe drinking water resulting in outbreaks of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery.

The patients are referred to Regina Coeli Mission Hospital, which is within the school premises.
Both the hospital and high school experience water shortages –thereby exposing boarding students to greater risk of contracting the disease.
Provincial Medical Director (Manicaland), Dr Patron Mafaune, professed ignorance when contacted for a comment.

“I have not received that information. If the situation was as you are telling me, I should have received a report from the DMO (district medical officer) by now,” said Dr Mafaune.

Nyanga District Education Officer, Mrs Musingwini, said she could not comment on the outbreak of the disease in schools as she was in Harare.

She referred the matter to the Provincial Education Director, Mr Edward Shumba, who was not readily available for a comment as his mobile number was not reachable while his direct landline was continuously engaged.

However, information gleaned by The Manica Post depicted a grave situation as sources at Regina Coeli Hospital said their efforts to combat the disease were being militated by manpower and drug shortages.

They said 10 Regina Coeli students were still hospitalized.
The Manica Post also understands that the typhoid outbreak nearly forced the school administration and the education authorities to close the school. The decision was eventually reversed due to the final Ordinary and Advanced level students’ examinations and the fear that sending the children to their respective homes would fuel the spread of the disease.

“We have an outbreak, and our major challenges are the shortage of personnel and drugs. This problem went out of control in September and October,” said a medical source who refused to be named citing protocol.

Some of the affected schools include Bumhira, Nyamaropa, Kambudzi, Regina Coeli, Kute, Crossdale and Chimhanda. Crossdale Primary lost a child to the disease, while two children from other schools died on admission at Regina Coeli and Nyanga District Hospital.

The other three were home deaths. The deceased were between 12 and 15 years.
“We have ill children from several schools admitted at the hospital, but Regina Coeli has the highest.
“We are left with 10 of them in admission after discharging others,” explained the source.

The outbreak is blamed on consumption of contaminated water from Kairezi River.
The erratic supply of running water has resulted in the community seeking alternative sources of water including open rivers and unsafe deep wells.

“We do not have safe drinking water. We are getting water from Kairezi River and the water needs purification before consumption. Sometimes we do not have water for both the high school and the hospital, and this worsens the situation. The pipes that draw water from Kairezi River are too small and given the eight kilometre distance, they cannot fill the tanks. We require big pipes,” added the source.

So far, the cumulative figure for dysentery cases this year is 24 430 and 76 deaths, while the cumulative figure for diarrhoea is 358 391 and 573 deaths.

In 2012, typhoid outbreak affected more than 1 500 people in the country.
The Constitution guaranteed that people should be provided with clean water.

The national water policy (2013) points out that the overall goal of the water sector is to achieve sustainable utilization of water resources that in turn will improve equity in access to freshwater by all Zimbabweans and the efficient use of water among competing users.

According to the latest weekly surveillance report by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, 370 cases have been recorded with 55 having been confirmed.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control blames poor clean water supplies as the major cause of typhoid.