Rosemary Chinamasa Herald Reporter
THREE people died of common diarrhoea and more than 7 000 others, mostly children, were treated of the disease throughout the country last week alone. According to the latest weekly report from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, one of the dead was a child under five years. Of the 7 285 reported cases, 4 236 were children under five years.
“The provinces which reported the highest number of diarrhoea cases are Manicaland and Masvingo,” said the ministry.
Meanwhile, 50 new cases of suspected typhoid were reported in Chitungwiza last week alone.
The ministry said of the cases, five treated at Chitungwiza Central Hospital were confirmed as typhoid and 44 others, which were attende to at council clinics were treated as suspected cases.
According to the weekly report, last week’s new cases bring the national confirmed cases to 80 and 4 838 suspected cases since the beginning of the outbreak in October 2011.
“These cases were reported from Chitungwiza town (44) and Chitungwiza Central Hospital (five),” reads part of the report.
According to the World Health Organisation, about four million children under the age of five die from diarrhoea each year.