Though new reported cholera cases and deaths in Zimbabwe have dramatically declined from levels seen in February and March, the World Health Organization is warning that the epidemic could surge again in three months or so as summer heat and rain pick up.
World Health Organization Representative Custodia Mandhlate said the organization’s research points to a new surge in cases in August as summer takes hold.
For the moment, however, the downtrend is intact. An unofficial compilation of daily reports for the week through Saturday, April 25, shows some 529 new cases and 29 deaths while in early February new weekly cases ran at 8,000 and in mid-March still over 2,000.
Executive Director Itai Rusike of the Community Working Group on Health told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the epidemic must be dealt with at community level, reducing Zimbabwean reliance on international medical relief.
More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...