The Zimbabwean government has sent health teams to the border district of Mudzi with Mozambique to deal with a possible cholera outbreak, amid reports that at least five people had contracted the disease in the area, an official said Friday. 
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care David Parirenyatwa told Xinhua there was need for cooperation between Zimbabwe and Mozambique to combat the spread of the disease which has killed at least 41 people in Mozambique.
In Malawi, where about 230,000 people have been displaced by floods, two deaths and nearly 60 cases of cholera were recorded at the beginning of the week.
Parirenyatwa said a child from Mudzi had travelled to Mozambique with its mother, contracted the disease and infected some others returning to Zimbabwe.
“Our teams have gone to Mudzi but we need to work together with the Mozambicans to ensure that the disease does not spread,” he said.
Zimbabwe has so far confirmed eight cases of cholera, two in Beitbridge on the border with South Africa, one in southeastern Chiredzi and five in Mudzi.
Zimbabweans still bear the scars of the cholera outbreaks in 2008 and 2009 during which more than 4,000 people died from the disease with the country crippled by economic hardship.
Director of Health Services of Harare City Council, Prosper Chonzi, recently urged residents to be on high alert following cholera outbreaks in Mozambique and Malawi.
The disease can be transmitted through water and fresh foods especially fruits, fish and meat and pre-cooked food sold in the open, the official said.
He advised residents to wash their hands before handling food and after using the toilet, adding fruits should be washed in running water before people eat them.
Acknowledging that Harare was not yet fully efficient in terms of providing adequate water and sanitation services, he said residents should be on high alert for possible water and food borne diseases.? Enditem
Source:?Xinhua
