Plans afoot to evict vendors in all Midlands towns, cities Gweru steps up fight against typhoid
GOVERNMENT will soon evict vendors in all towns and cities in the Midlands Province as a precautionary measure to curb any possible spreading of typhoid following an outbreak of the water-borne disease in Gweru.
Typhoid claimed nine lives and affected more than 1 500 people in the Midlands capital since its outbreak in July.
There were fears that the disease was now spreading to Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa after there was a spate of sicknesses presenting symptoms similar to typhoid in the four districts.
Gweru City Council successfully removed vendors from pavements in the CBD as one of the measures to combat typhoid.
Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Owen Ncube said the province had resolved to remove all vendors in towns and cities in the province to avoid any possible spreading of the disease.
Minister Ncube said all local authorities had been notified of the development and the directive would soon be implemented.
“We have managed to restore sanity in Gweru and the exercise will now spread to other towns in the province,” he said.
“We need to keep our towns and cities clean. What we are doing will ensure that typhoid will not spread to other towns in the province.
“Gweru is the capital city of the province and the disease can easily spread. So, it is prudent for us to be proactive.”
Midlands provincial medical director Dr Simon Nyadundu recently said GWERU City Council has stepped up its fight against typhoid by training over 50 district school heads, inspecting more than 200 school premises and training more than 1 200 students ahead of the new school term that started yesterday.
Most parents have been sceptical about sending their children to school following the outbreak of the disease in Gweru, which claimed nine lives and affected more than 1 500 people.
It is suspected that the disease emanated from the cross contamination of water and sewerage.
In an interview, Gweru Town Clerk Ms Elizabeth Gwatipedza said the local authority was also sampling water from the schools’ water sources to ensure that the water was safe for drinking.
Ms Gwatipedza said some boreholes sampled had since been condemned.
“Approximately 50 district school heads were trained, while 32 borehole samples were collected and six were not satisfactory due to presence of faecal contamination, she said.
“All higher and tertiary institutions were inspected. Over 200 premises
there were reported cases of people who could be suffering from the same disease in Zvishavane, Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Mberengwa.
He said there was need to first carry out investigations to ascertain if it was were inspected and the exercise is still going on. A risk assessment exercise was done at Midlands State University (MSU) and over 1 200 first-year students were sensitised on typhoid.
“Around 1 200 students have been sensitised on typhoid to assist as peer educators around the MSU community,” she said
indeed typhoid.
Dr Nyadundu said there was also need for a rapid response in dealing with such cases.
“I can confirm that we have received a report that there are people who are
Ms Gwatipedza said Gweru City Council was also training food handlers at boarding schools and canteens at tertiary institutions.
She said the learning institutions were being educated on proper waste disposal practices, distribution of disinfectants and water containers in all schools.
“We have the following precautionary measures in place,” she said.
“These include sensitisation of school heads, schools inspection, water sampling of boreholes, distribution of Information Education and Communication (IEC) material on typhoid prevention.
“We have also embarked on the sensitisation of school pupils during the first week of opening on good hand hygiene practices, distribution of water disinfectants for borehole water treatment at point of consumption as well as distribution of water containers to schools for proper water storage to prevent contamination.
“We are moving around schools emphasising good food hygiene practices on observation of cold/hot chain storage principles where pupils are provided with food. We are also training food handlers, as well as educating on proper waste disposal practices.”
suffering from illnesses that have similar symptoms to those that we are experiencing in Gweru,” he said.
“However, we are investigating the cases so that we are sure on whether it is or it is not typhoid.”