Surge in cholera cases in Nyanga

NYANGA District has seen a worrying surge in suspected cholera cases, with 111 new cases being reported in the past week alone.

The sudden increase has raised concerns about the spread of the disease, particularly in the Nyarugwe mining area in Nyanga North where illegal gold mining activities are prevalent, and in Sabundo Village in Mukunza area.

According to the Zimbabwe Situational Report released on Wednesday, the district recorded 10 confirmed cases and three suspected cholera deaths in seven days.

Fifty-one cases were hospitalised in the district.

The report also states that, during those days, the province recorded 128 suspected cholera cases, with 111 of them being recorded in Nyanga District, 12 in Chimanimani District and five in Mutare Rural District.

In an interview on Wednesday, Nyanga District Medical Officer, Dr Majoni John Muungani said the cases have spread to Sabundo Village because two people who died from the disease where buried in the area, and locals contracted the disease at the funeral.

“Of the 111 cases, half were recorded in Sabundo Village. This is because one of the first five cases that we recorded in Nyarugwe last week originated from Sabundo Village.

There was a funeral in Sabundo Village and many people contracted the disease from that funeral. Later on, we recorded another death, which was that of a relative of the first fatality. As a result, the two areas are now hotspots in the district,” said Dr Muungani.

He said the cases are being referred and treated at Avila Mission Hospital in the same district.

He, however, said the cases have since started going down, as the district recorded only three cases on Tuesday and five on Wednesday.

Dr Muungani said the situation is being closely monitored. They also responded swiftly, setting up an emergency response team and deploying additional Emergency Health Technicians (EHT) to the affected area.

The EHTs are working to raise awareness among the illegal mining community, conducting surveillance and monitoring the situation.

During this process, they are also decontaminating homes.

“We have deployed more staff in the affected areas. Our staff are doing contact tracing and surveillance. Through contract tracing, we managed to identify more cases that were being kept at home. We ensured that they were taken to hospital to save lives. We have also been constantly raising awareness in the affected areas through engaging traditional and religious leaders,” he said.

Access to clean water remains a challenge in Nyarugwe area due to illegal mining activities.

“While people in Sabundo Village have access to safe water, those in Nyarugwe remain exposed to the disease as they are drinking water straight from the river. As a result, we are also distributing water treatment packages to community members within the areas to ensure that people drink safe water,” he said.

He said they are also working with Nyanga Rural District Council and other Government arms to ensure the provision of safe water in the area.

This outbreak comes a few weeks after Nyanga District was declared cholera-free, along with nine other districts nationwide.

Dr Muungani emphasized the need for continued vigilance in the affected areas.

“We will continue with awareness campaigns to ensure that communities continue practicing good hand and food hygiene and all other preventive measures to combat this disease,” he said.

Since the inception of the cholera outbreak last year, the province had recorded 1 279 confirmed cases and 6 566 suspected cholera cases by Wednesday.

It had also recorded 133 suspected cholera deaths and 35 confirmed deaths.