The 2018–2019 Zimbabwe cholera outbreak began on 1 September 2018, and the last reported case occurred on 12 March 2019.ReliefWeb (2019). Zimbabwe: Cholera Outbreak - Sep 2018. nlineAvailable at: https://reliefweb.int/disaster/ep-2018-000150-zwe ccessed 19 Nov. 2019 The

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an government declared a national emergency on 6 September 2018. The

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

outbreak originated in Glenview, a suburb in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, Zimbabwe's capital city, and then spread to the following provinces in Zimbabwe:

Manicaland Manicaland is a Provinces of Zimbabwe, province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2012 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawa ...

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province. Geography Districts Mashonaland East i ...

Mashonaland West Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million (2012). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province. Districts Mashonaland West is divided into 7 districts: * Chegutu * ...

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

Mashonaland Central Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 28,347 km² and a population of 1,152,520 (2012 census), representing about 8.5% of the total Zimbabwe population. Geography Background Bindura is the capital of the ...

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, th ...

and

Matebeleland South Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi r ...

. The last report from the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) Afro regional office has listed the outbreak as a closed event with the outbreak running from 6 September 2018 to 12 March 2019. They were a total of 10,730 suspected cases however the confirmed cases were only 371. There were several risk factors associated with the outbreak described by the WHO, including intermittent supplies in Harare, particularly in high-density suburbs such as Glenview, the epicenter of the outbreak.World Health Organization, 2018. WHO Cholera – Zimbabwe. WHO. UR

(accessed 12.2.19) The city council was also unable to supply enough water for Harare, creating shortages due to the increasing urban population. These shortages led to sanitation issues as people began to use unregulated wells and boreholes, leading people in Harare drinking contaminated water. The deteriorating Water supply and sanitation in Zimbabwe, sanitation infrastructure is leading to issues such as raw sewage flowing in areas of Harare. Another sanitation issue was the informal traders selling items such as fruit exacerbating the outbreak. Four cholera treatment centers were set up in Harare to deal with the initial outbreaking cholera. The WHO began a campaign to

vaccinate A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

1.4 million people in Harare against cholera for people living in areas at most risk of contracting the disease in October 2018.World Health Organization, 2018a. Zimbabwe to vaccinate 1.4 million people against cholera in Harare WW Document WHO , Regional Office for Africa. URL https://www.afro.who.int/news/zimbabwe-vaccinate-14-million-people-against-cholera-harare (accessed 12.2.19). To address the water supply issues in key hotspots affected by cholera through increasing water supply through water trucking, adding water tanks, and repairing existing water infrastructure. To address sanitation issues, items such as soap and chlorination tablets were distributed to households in hotspot areas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-2019 Zimbabwe cholera outbreak 2018 disease outbreaks 2019 disease outbreaks 2018 in Zimbabwe 2019 in Zimbabwe Cholera outbreaks Disease outbreaks in Zimbabwe 2018 disasters in Zimbabwe 2019 disasters in Zimbabwe

See also

References