MORE than 200 residents including school children in
Empumalanga’s DRC suburb in Hwange were on Thursday and Friday taken ill
following a diarrhoea outbreak suspected to have been caused by a sewage leak
into the water system.
Officials suspect that 3 000 more residents could be
exposed to the water borne infection. An emergency Civil Protection Committee
was hastily arranged on Friday to try and deal with the problem.
Speaking at the meeting, Hwange Local Board Environment
Health technician, Mr Nqobile Mabhena said they suspected the outbreak was a
result of cross contamination emanating from a suspected leak in the water
pipeline that supplies the area.
“Although Zinwa and council have not pinpointed the source
or exactly where this cross contamination took place there is suspicion that
it’s at a river crossing where a sewage stream flows. In the suspected area
there is a stream of raw sewage from burst pipes that flows over the pipes
supplying water to residents in DRC so that could be our cross contamination
point. We suspect that sewage water which would have heavily accumulated in the
water supply pipeline is pushed up when supplies are restored. The whole Phase
Three has been affected by this and as on Thursday, 53 cases had been reported
at our clinic today (Friday) the number had increased to 93. This number
excludes the ones that went to seek treatment at other health institutions such
as St Patrick’s and Hwange Colliery hospitals,” said Mr Mabhena.
Hwange District Medical Officer Dr Seleman Saidi, however,
said they were yet to confirm if the outbreak was caused by diarrhoea.
“We are yet to ascertain if it’s a diarrhoea outbreak and
as for the number that have been taken ill we are yet to get confirmation on
that. However, for a Press statement contact the PMD,” he said.
Dr Saidi said the number of affected people could increase
owing to delays in locating the point of cross contamination.
“We are now faced
with the challenge of containing the situation that is finding the point of
contamination as soon as possible but in the meantime the problem may persist.
The catchment area has a population of over 3 000 people and the number may
increase if we don’t act fast. Yes, we know that council was responsible for
the sewer burst.”
Zinwa quality assurance technician, Mr Blessing Tagwirei
said a team to investigate the problem had been brought in to test the water.
“We have tested the
water along the line, at some points it meets the WHO standards, however, we
have had challenges in locating the exact points of contamination. We strongly
believe that raw sewage finding its way into the water pipe when there is a
water cut caused the contamination. Three supply lines have been affected and
these run parallel to the sewer pipes and if anything happens along the lines
there is a likelihood of cross contamination. We will also increase our
chlorine levels at certain points to create shock along the system as a
measure,” he said.
Mr Tagwirei said the problem was being exacerbated by
constant power cuts which would cut off water supplies to the area thereby
causing raw sewage from the flowing stream to seep into the created vacuum.
“We were not able to get samples from some of the affected
houses especially those uphill because there was no water as a result of the
power cut. However, we hope to get water samples to test the level of
contamination. In the meantime we are going to excavate the suspected area of
cross contamination.”
Acting District Administrator who is also chairperson of
CPC, Mr Simbarashe Kayela called on stakeholders to assist in the mobilisation
of resources to contain the outbreak.
Sunday News visited Empumalanga on Friday where almost half
of the pupils from Nechibondo Primary School were waiting in queues at the
local clinic accompanied by their parents and some residents to receive
treatment.
They said they were sent home after spending most of the
morning with running tummies. Sunday News
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