Diarrhoea cases rise in Chinhoyi

CHINHOYI town clinics recorded an upsurge in diarrhoea cases last month, with municipal officials launching an awareness campaign in residential areas to curb a potential outbreak.

Cases recorded among children under five years have been linked to Rota virus, which is normally linked to unhygienic conditions, amid reports of serious water shortages in the town.

In an interview on Wednesday, Chinhoyi Municipality spokesperson Mr Tichaona Mlauzi said they were pumping potable water, although supplies were being affected by electricity load shedding.

He said Chinhoyi town clerk Mr Maxwell Kaitona was engaging his counterparts at ZESA to spare the town’s water works from load-shedding.

“As of the July 29, Chinhoyi Clinic has recorded 17 cases, Mzari Polyclinic (eight) and Chikonohono (13),” he said.

Mr Mlauzi said investigations indicated that the cases were linked to probable Rota viral infections.

“It is associated with poor hygiene, he said. We have, however, taken water samples and according to our samples we have taken so far, our water is portable, its safe for human consumption.

“Also, we may not have supplied water the way we are supposed to due to erratic electricity supply. We have been having electricity for seven and half hours, which means two of our tanks at Chikonohono and Cold Stream are usually eventually empty.”

Mr Mlauzi said council was pumping enough water to the residence urging people to share the water they receive.

“Maybe the containers they are storing their water would not have been properly secured which leads to diseases infestation, he said. Because of the pumping challenges, some residents are forced to keep water for a long period with water in some containers.”

Municipality authorities, Mr Mlauzi said, visited the high density suburbs and discovered that some residents were receiving water once in three days.

“So the period of storage of water for those three days leads residents to store water in unsuitable containers,” he said.

The Municipality of Chinhoyi has also activated its rapid response team which compromises of officials from council and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

“We have actually informed them about the cases so that they can assess the situation and assist while our town clerk is engaging with Zesa for improvement in electricity supply,” he said.

Mr Mlauzi said they had also stepped up home visits while continuing health education among the community.