Ministry of Health and Child Care has reported a shortage of aqua tablets used to cleanse drinking water at a time the country is battling to contain cholera outbreaks being reported in different pockets of Harare, 263Chat can reveal.
In video posted on the Health Ministry’s twitter page, Epidemiology Disease Control Director, Dr Portia Manangazira confirmed the shortage of aqua tablets in the country.
“We have a limited supply of aqua tablets which is the chlorine foam that we encourage people to put in their 20 and 30 litre containers of water, but there is also water guard and we appeal to the suppliers of water guard to make it available into a number if supermarkets,
“If not available, use the household Jik. Put it in your containers and let it sit for a while and an use it even for cleaning vegetables,
“Our first cases of cholera where on the 23rd of March 2018 and to date there has been a total of 13 cases of cholera seven of which are confirmed and three deaths. We also have an ongoing cholera outbreak in Chitungwiza in Stoneridge, its an area that’s largely an informal settlement but the cholera has spread to St Mary’s and these are all areas with poor supply of water,” said Manangazira.
Due to perennial water problems in Harare, most residents rely on borehole water with some using open sources which expose them to waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
As of today 11 cases have been reported in Chitungwiza, three of which were positive while one person has died after succumbing to cholera.
“In both outbreaks in Harare and Chitungwiza we see a rising trend in the cases, we appeal to all residents of urban areas in the country to treat the water they use in the household at the point that they are using it whether its municipal or borehole,
“We also appeal to the people to observe hand hygiene as it goes a long way in preventing these infections, we also appeal to local authorities to ensure that water is provided for all residents and also management of sewage systems, these are putting people at the risk of cholera and typhoid and other related diseases,” added Manangazira.
Ministry of Health and Child Care urged Central and referral hospitals to be highly sensitive to the signs and symptoms of cholera to ensure that when people present at institutions they get the effective management of the diseases.
