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Herald Reporter
Diarrhoea killed 484 people in the country last year out of the recorded 506 020 cases, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has said. According to the ministry’s weekly disease surveillance report, five deaths, three of them in children, were recorded in the last week of December which recorded 8 562 cases.

Provinces which reported the highest number of diarrhoea cases were Mashonaland East with 1 414 and Mashonaland Central with 1 200.

The deaths in the last week of December were reported from Parirenyatwa Hospital (1), Harare City (1), Goromonzi district in Mashonaland East Province (2) and Rushinga district in Mashonaland Central Province (1).

Many deaths in diarrhoea cases are triggered by dehydration and patients are encouraged to use oral rehydration therapy to prevent death.

The therapy, which is a home-made salt and sugar solution, is being promoted by the Control of Diarrhoea Disease programme in the Ministry of Health and Child Care.