By Own Correspondent| Chitungwiza has recorded 14 suspected cholera cases, 2 of which have been confirmed, Chitungwiza Mayor Gift Tsverere has said.

Addressing journalists at the local authority offices (Tuesday), Tsverere said Chitungwiza municipality had set up a cholera treatment camp at St Mary’s poly clinic as a public health measure.

Said Tsverere in a press statement:

Press Statement on Cholera Outbreak

The Chitungwiza Municipality is greatly concerned with the current cholera outbreak which started in the City of Harare and has now spread to involve other parts of the country, including Chitungwiza.

While the number of cases seen in Chitungwiza is still quite small compared to the numbers of cases being seen in the City of Harare, the situation is still a cause for concern and requires prompt and decisive action to mitigate and resolve it.

So far Chitungwiza has 12 suspected cased with two confirmed cases, bringing the total 14, although it is expected that the actual numbers of those affected will change with time.

As a municipality which carries the mandate to safeguard the welfare of its residents, efforts have been put in place so that the town becomes cholera free.

The municipality’s health department has established a cholera treatment camp situated at St Mary’s poly clinic as a public health measure.

The council has also deployed a dedicated medical team to deal with the situation and is in consultation with other multi sectoral stakeholders for purposes of seeking resolution to the current outbreak.

The municipality shall with immediate effect tighten the inspection of all food processing outlets to ensure health standards are adhered to according to the law.

The council is discouraging the public from sourcing food from illegal food vendors. We are also appealing to the residents to immediately report any sewer leakages to our offices so as to enable the prompt deployment of the rapid response team which is on standby.

The municipality is working tirelessly to try and ensure adequate and reliable potable water supplies to the residents of Chitungwiza.

We call upon all residents, stakeholders and partners to practise active citizenship through taking responsibility for preventing and mitigating the spread of cholera.

The Municipality is also advising residents to ensure that they have good hygienic practices at household level, specifically:
• Practising thorough hand washing after using the lavatory, before preparation of food and before eating
• Avoiding open defecation
• Eating food while it is still hot
• Avoiding shaking hands unnecessarily
• Treating all water at point of use with water guard, aqua tabs or through boiling
• Avoiding eating from untrusted sources especial during public gatherings
• Buying fruits and vegetables from trusted sources and ensuring that they are cleaned before consumption.

The municipality is appealing to all partners, stakeholders and well-wishers to come together in a collective effort to beat the cholera scourge.

Finally we wish to encourage all residents to immediately seek medical attention at the first sign of diarrhoea, dehydration, stomach pains, fever or vomiting. Anyone who is ill and is suspected to have cholera should be referred to the Municipality’s Health department’s cholera treatment camp at St. Mary’s Clinic
“Together we can defeat Cholera”

Clr Gift Tichaona Tsverere
(Mayor)
12th of September 2018