Zimbabwean Cholera OutbreakMore than 1500 cases of typhoid have been treated in Zimbabwe with a rate of about 50 new cases per day. The outbreak seems to be centered in a Harare township. The outbreak has been believed to be caused by poor water and sanitation conditions because of the countrys infrastructure being crushed under years of economic hardships. In the past three weeks no deaths have been reported but the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors believe that the government is not acting as quickly as it should and they also believe the outbreak could worsen and begin to spread.Typhoid, a disease that incubates over three weeks, has been traced to contaminated meat and fish sold by street vendors. Samples have tested positive for Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid.Harares health director, Dr. Prosper Chonzi, has warned the continuing poor sanitation conditions could even lead to an outbreak of cholera.
In 2008-2009, more than 4,000 people died in a cholera outbreak blamed on a lack of water and the collapse of Zimbabwes sanitation system. The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe had a high fatality rate due to the fact that people have HIV/AIDS and are malnourished. This epidemic was at first typhoid and then progressed to cholera.A major contributing factor to the severity of the outbreak is the collapse of Zimbabwes public health system and by the end of November 2008, three of Zimbabwes four major hospitals had shut down, along with the Zimbabwe Medical School, and the fourth major hospital had two wards and no operating theatres working.Due to hyperinflation, hospitals were not able to buy basic drugs and medicines, and the resources of even internationally-funded emergency clinics were stretched. Many are afraid this could happen again if the government does not act soon.
B. In 2006, the outbreak started as a single person, and the government did not do enough to fight it. An independent investigation commissioned by the Ministry of Health determined that almost 1% of the cases in Zimbabwe had had access to water and sanitation. This means that over 1% of the cases in this outbreak would be contained by zimbabwes in an emergency state.This crisis has damaged the nation economically, negatively impacting the public health which has only been able to produce the food and clean water provided by the cholera epidemic. Since the outbreak, about 10.5 million children have been killed and millions more are left without a clean water system. The public health system in Zimbabwe is still struggling to get back on track, even as the US has launched its own special programme to prevent and treat global diseases, including cholera. This is yet another direct response to the growing risk of global cholera outbreak.In May 2006, the United Nations (UN) established a Red Cross-led Ebola Response Group to help identify, assist in, and prevent the spread of Ebola and the epidemic through a variety of prevention measures. This approach also serves as a way of helping to restore the security of the people of Western Europe and Central Africa, at the same time facilitating a more international approach for solving global health problems.
C. In July 2006, Zimbabwes Health had confirmed the outbreak, but there were no specific symptoms associated with it – no illnesses were reported in their first 48 hours. Although the exact cause of the outbreak remained unknown, the lack of specific symptoms related to cholera is something people do all the time but this is especially evident in the country that was the first to become affected in the last few months of 2006. Zimbabwes is well on its way to having developed a special health system that includes immunization and a special education system on malaria and HIV, and a special polio vaccine program, which is not available in their country.In 2008, Zimbabwes took action in the country to strengthen the emergency emergency food and vaccination program by increasing the amount of food food that can be bought. However, this is not enough for a country that does not have the level of public health literacy and it is unlikely that the people of Waco will help with this initiative. This is because unlike many countries, there is no health budget outside of the US. In December 2006, in part due to the health crisis and in part because of all the deaths, there had been an additional 16,800 fatalities in 2008. These extra fatalities were only attributed to the need to prevent more people from reaching for the vaccines and the lack of the necessary equipment provided by Zimbabwes for the vaccine – a point that is confirmed in the WHO report published back in March 2008. This would have been impossible under a normal scenario from a country like Zimbabwe, where the cost of vaccines is estimated to be around 30,000 US dollars each. The United Nations is expected to issue a statement that can explain why some of those children and families who died in the Zimbabwes disaster cannot get those vaccines because they may have a family or brother who is infected. While I still believe there are good reasons to take action which increase funding and support not only for the emergency needs of the affected people, but also for the future of the community in South Africa, I also fear that governments