Bereaved family in cholera storm

A RUSAPE bereaved family is in the eye of a storm after it reportedly buried the corpse of relative who died of cholera without notifying health experts in the district, thereby putting mourners at the risk as funerals are potential gatherings where the disease can be transmitted.

The corpse was brought from Glenview in Harare for burial in Masvova village on the outskirts of Rusape last week.

With funerals being regarded as potential sites where cholera can be transmitted, fears now abound this could have become a mode of spreading the disease to Rusape.

The issue was brought to the attention of the Makoni district Civil Prptection Unit by the district nursing officer (DNO) Sister Dorothy Mapingire on Wednesday.

She said the burial was not supervised by health officials as required and a health team has been deployed in the village to closely monitor those who attended the burial.

“There is one person who died of cholera in Glenview 3 and was buried in Masvosva village. Such burials should be supervised by our officials, but in this particular case, the bereaved family just brought the body from Harare and buried it in the village without our supervision. We dispatched a team last Saturday to investigate how the burial was conducted and though they did not open the casket for body viewing, we are doing active daily surveillance checks and monitoring those who attended the funeral,” said Sr Mapingire.

She said special care should be taken to prepare and handle the body for burial and during a funeral so others do not get ill with cholera.

However, the Manicaland, provincial medical director (PMD) Dr Patron Mafaune said yesterday said the cholera outbreak was under control and there was no need to panic.

Dr Mafaune said since the detection of two cases in Rusape and one in Buhera, the province has not recorded new cases and rapid response teams were on the ground monitoring the situation.

“We have dispatched our rapid response teams throughout the province and are working flat out to keep the situation under control. We have not yet received any new incidence of the disease and there is no need to panic,” said Dr Mafaune.

Reports of new outbreaks in Chikanga, Dangamvura have been dismissed while the Mutasa case has been explained.

“No cholera has been detected in Chikanga and Dangamvura,” said Mutare City spokesman Mr Spreni Mutiwi.

In Rusape, a father and son have been quarantined for cholera treatment at Rusape General Hospital and stakeholders in the district are on high alert.

Backyard food outlets and school feeding programmes have been temporarily suspended as