Tests on water samples taken from 127 boreholes in Glen
Norah, Mbare and Budiriro were found to contain significant traces of E. coli
bacteria, indicating the presence of human waste.
City health authorities are monitoring 72 suspected typhoid
cases, with about 20 others having already been confirmed.
This comes as Harare is also grappling with hundreds of
cases of diarrhoea that have been reported since October last year, with the
case-load surging since the onset of the rains.
Experts attributed the spike in water-borne diseases in the
capital to the city’s failure to provide clean running water, collect refuse and
attend to burst sewer pipes.
While adults can recover from an E. coli infection within a
week, children and older adults have a greater risk of developing a
life-threatening form of kidney failure.
The latest development has raised fears of a cholera outbreak
after cases of the disease were recorded in Zambia and Malawi.
This has prompted Government to activate its cholera
surveillance system, with the authorities dispatching medical supplies used in
managing cholera to health centres in suburbs considered hotspots.
City epidemiology and disease control officer Dr Michael
Vere said the contaminated boreholes had been linked to the surge in suspected
typhoid cases.
“We have tested several boreholes in Harare — a total of
127 — and we discovered that seven boreholes were contaminated with faecal
matter in Glen Norah and eight boreholes in Mbare,” he said.
“We temporarily closed these boreholes and installed
in-line chlorinators; these are devices that contain chlorine, which kills all
the bacteria in the water to make it safe for use.
“These boreholes could have been the source of typhoid
infection.”
The city authorities, he said, plan to increase potable
water pumped into areas where boreholes have been decommissioned.
“We are working with our Water Department so that affected
suburbs get water supplies,” he added.
“Our health department has recorded 92 cases of suspected
typhoid, of which about 20 have been confirmed.
“From January 1, we recorded a total of nine cases.
“We have seven cases from Glen Norah and two other cases —
one each in Highfield and Ushewokunze.
“We continued to record increasing number of cases in Glen
Norah and this prompted us to investigate the source of the outbreak.”
Apart from contaminated water sources, typhoid can be
spread through contact with an infected person.
Meanwhile, Government has heightened its cholera
surveillance, especially in the wake of reported cases in the region.
Ministry Health and Child Care spokesperson Mr Donald Mujiri
said Government has updated its cholera and typhoid control guidelines.
“Teams are activated and responding to all alerts from the
hotspots using an updated cholera operational plan,” he said.
“We have also trained these teams to respond to cholera and
typhoid,” he said, adding that messaging and health education was ongoing in
cholera hotspots, with emphasis on the use of safe water and handwashing. Sunday
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