Report outbreaks, private doctors urged
THE Bulawayo City Council has challenged private doctors in the city to report outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as typhoid to the local authority in line with the Public Health Act.
is comes amid revelations that the Gweru typhoid outbreak initially emanated from hospitals which neglected to report the cases to the city’s health department, which led to the disease not being properly contained hence the outbreak.
Speaking on the sidelines of the official opening of the Vivat Private Clinic on Friday, Bulawayo City Health Director, Dr Edwin Sibanda said private hospitals and doctors should know their responsibilities in alerting health officials on such contagious diseases. He said most hospitals pushed monetary benefits at the expense of their medical responsibilities.
“Recently I was with the Gweru city health director who told me that according to their investigations the typhoid outbreak they are experiencing was first reported at a private hospital.
“We therefore call on our private hospitals and doctors not to hesitate to report cases they suspect to be typhoid because such diseases have a specific way to contain them and ensure that there is no outbreak.
“Most of these practices actually push financial benefits and want to treat individuals according to their financial muscle forgetting that this can have a bigger effect on the city if the disease is not properly diagnosed and handled,” said Dr Sibanda.
Gweru is struggling to contain the disease that has claimed seven lives with nearly 130 people being treated. Responding to questions from Sunday News, the council senior public relations, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, reiterated Dr Sibanda’s sentiments saying while the city has not received any typhoid case, there was growing concern over clandestine treating of patients by private doctors.
“It is sad that some practitioners are in the habit of diagnosing typhoid in patients with no epidemiological link on the basis of the Widal test which is a screening test and maybe positive in several conditions other than typhoid,” said Mrs Mpofu.
“The correct thing to do is collect the right samples and send to competent laboratories in order to make the diagnosis prior to pronouncing typhoid. We ask health practitioners to continue to work closely with the city council in improving the health of the community.”
She said the council’s Health Services Department and Emergency Preparedness and Response Team was on high alert following the typhoid outbreak in Gweru. Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa, recently pointed fingers at GCC for supplying residents with unclean water. Dr Parirenyatwa challenged the local authority to desist from misleading the public that its tap water was safe when it was not.