WASHINGTON —
The Harare City Council is warning residents against drinking untreated water as fresh cases of typhoid have been recorded in the past two weeks.
The city has been struggling to eliminate typhoid and other water borne diseases as it tries to revamp the former sunshine city’s crumbling water system.
The city’s Health Services Departments reported 36 new cases of typhoid in recent weeks in Mabvuku and Mbare. City fathers said even water from boreholes should be treated.
The health ministry says 6,839 people have been affected by the outbreak since 2011 countrywide.
VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo spoke to Dr. Portia Manangazira head of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department, who said Zimbabwe has failed to eliminate typhoid due to a number of issues that include failure by the authorities to provide clean water to residents.
“For us in Zimbabwe, one case of typhoid, one case of cholera is an outbreak, it's an issue of major concern that this outbreak has not abated," said Manangazira, adding that "whatever initiated the outbreak has not been dealt with adequately."
Residents are encouraged to througly boil drinking water before use, or to use chlorine to treat water.
The city has been struggling to eliminate typhoid and other water borne diseases as it tries to revamp the former sunshine city’s crumbling water system.
The city’s Health Services Departments reported 36 new cases of typhoid in recent weeks in Mabvuku and Mbare. City fathers said even water from boreholes should be treated.
The health ministry says 6,839 people have been affected by the outbreak since 2011 countrywide.
VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo spoke to Dr. Portia Manangazira head of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department, who said Zimbabwe has failed to eliminate typhoid due to a number of issues that include failure by the authorities to provide clean water to residents.
“For us in Zimbabwe, one case of typhoid, one case of cholera is an outbreak, it's an issue of major concern that this outbreak has not abated," said Manangazira, adding that "whatever initiated the outbreak has not been dealt with adequately."
Residents are encouraged to througly boil drinking water before use, or to use chlorine to treat water.