A deadly cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed nearly 500 people in the biggest outbreak recorded
recently in the crisis-hit country, the World Health Organisation said today.
The WHO said in a report that the cholera outbreak is affecting most regions of the country with a fatality rate of up to 50 per cent in some areas. It reported 473 deaths from 11,700 cases.
"Cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe have occurred annually since 1998, but previous epidemics never reached today's proportions. The last large outbreak was in 1992 with 3,000 cases recorded," the WHO said in a report.
Zimbabwean rights groups estimate that up to 1,000 people have died from a disease that is preventable and treatable under normal conditions. The water delivery system has broken down in Harare and other cities, forcing residents to drink from contaminated wells and streams.
The cholera, easily prevented and treated under normal circumstances, is a sign of Zimbabwe's collapse as President Robert Mugabe and the opposition MDC squabble over how to implement a power-sharing agreement.
The country, once prosperous by regional standards, has the world's highest modern-day inflation, officially at 231 million per cent but estimated to be much higher with prices doubling every 24 hours. Food is short and limits on cash withdrawals from banks mean few can get enough money to buy a loaf of bread. Power cuts are frequent.
Zimbabweans have grown increasingly angry at the collapse of the once prosperous country, where the deadlock between Mr Mugabe and the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai over a power-sharing deal has delayed hope of rescuing the ruined state.
The army said it was worried about unprecedented clashes between soldiers and Zimbabweans yesterday and was investigating the conduct of "indisciplined" soldiers.
Dozens of unarmed soldiers were involved in running battles with mobs and riot police in central Harare after seizing cash from vendors and illegal foreign currency traders, heightening fears of growing instability in country.
Mr Mugabe's government says the health system and economy are collapsing because of sanctions imposed by Western powers it says are trying to oust him for seizing thousands of white-owned farms and redistributing the land to blacks.