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Herald Reporter
Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Varichem has started manufacturing Zincol tablets for treating diarrhoea. This comes in the wake of a diarrhoea outbreak that claimed the lives of five children and affected 5 439 other people in the week ending December 1. Varichem export and tender executive Mr Dennis Chiguya said they started manufacturing the drug in August.

“We have so far manufactured at least 5 000 boxes of Zincol tablets with each box containing 10 strips,” Mr Chiguya said. “As a country we were recommended to use the drug by the World Health Organisation. Initially Government used to receive the drug as a donation from

France but that has since stopped,” he said.

He said Zincol tablets are manufactured using zinc and sulphate for the clinical management of acute diarrhoea. According to WHO, acute diarrhoea is responsible for 15 percent of deaths of children under the age of five. Pediatrician Dr Hildah Mujuru said Zincol tablets reduce diarrhoea episodes. “The tablets are administered in conjunction with oral rehydration salts (ORS) and each child is administered according to his or he age,” she said.