# 2653
On December 11th of last year, Zimbabwe's President Mugabe assured the world that the Cholera epidemic in his country had been `arrested', and that the crisis was over.
At the time, roughly 16,000 people had been sickened, with nearly 800 deaths.
Zimbabwe's Mugabe: Cholera crisis over
updated 7:43 p.m. ET, Thurs., Dec. 11, 2008
HARARE, Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe declared Thursday that Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak is under control, but the United Nations said the death toll was rising.
Cholera has spread rapidly in the southern African nation because of the country's crumbling health care system and the lack of clean water. The United Nations said 783 have died from the epidemic and 16,403 cases have been reported.
Of course, nobody really believed Mugabe. But that was the `official' line.
Fast forward 30 days, and the epidemic still rages in Zimbabwe, but now the number sickened is approaching 40,000 with more than 2,000 deaths.
UN: Zimbabwe cholera deaths climb above 2,000
GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says the cholera death toll in Zimbabwe has risen above 2,000.
The World Health Organization says 2,024 deaths and 39,806 cases have been reported since the outbreak began in August.
The figures released Tuesday by WHO represent an increase of 117 deaths and 1,472 cases and show the fatality rate from cholera in Zimbabwe stands at 5.1 percent. This is far above the 1 percent rate that is normal in large-scale outbreaks.
Aid agencies struggling to contain the cholera outbreak in the southern African country say the disease has been spread by contaminated drinking water.
Zimbabwe's health and sanitation infrastructure is crumbling as a result of years of political and economic crisis.
And it isn't just limited to Zimbabwe. Cholera cases are showing up in neighboring Mozambique and South Africa.
Dozens of new cholera cases in Limpopo
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Jan 09 2009 16:16
Sixty-eight new cholera cases have been reported in Limpopo, the Department of Health said on Friday.
Eleven new cases were recorded in Musina and Madimbo, 46 in Dilokong and 11 in Botlokwa since Thursday, department spokesperson Phuti Seloba said."Our hot spots at the moment are Botlokwa and Dilokong. At present there were 1 634 cases of cholera in Limpopo that have been recorded since the outbreak," said Seloba.
He said the department expected to treat more cholera patients as Zimbabweans were moving back into South Africa in large numbers.
"Our anticipation is that our neighbours from Zimbabwe are coming back into the country in large numbers, so we will treat more people," Seloba said.
Cholera is still endemic in those parts of the world where sanitation and water treatment facilities are lacking.
While no longer considered a problem in North America, Australia, and Europe - Cholera continues to exact a heavy toll in developing nations.
As the WHO (World Health Organization) explains, Cholera on average, claims more than 100,000 lives each year.
In 2001, 58 countries officially notified WHO of a total of 184 311 cases and 2728 deaths but, due to considerable under-reporting, the true global figures are estimated as closer to 1 million cases.
Estimates of global cholera-specific mortality are believed to be 100 000 to 130 000 deaths per year, with most of the deaths occurring in Asia and Africa.
Case fatality rates (CFRs) vary greatly from country to country. For example, very low CFRs were recorded in South Africa (0.22%) whereas rates of up to 30% have been observed in other parts of Africa.
The CDC maintains an extensive Cholera information site, links to which are below.
Cholera
General Information | Technical Information | Additional Information
- What is cholera?
- How does a person get cholera?
- What is the risk for cholera in the United States?
- What should travelers do to avoid getting cholera?
- Is a vaccine available to prevent cholera?
- Can cholera be treated?
- How long will the current epidemic last?
- What is the U.S. government doing to combat cholera?
- Where can a traveler get information about cholera?
