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Samantha Chigogo Herald Correspondent
Prisons across the country are on high alert for a possible typhoid outbreak following the spread of the disease nationwide, an official has said. There have been false reports that the disease had spread to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and Harare Central Prison claiming the lives of two inmates leaving several others hospitalised.

In an interview on Wednesday, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) spokesperson Superintendent Priscilla Mthembo said the country’s prisons were still safe from the outbreak.

“Although our conditions may be prone to typhoid outbreaks, we have not recorded any cases or suspected cases of typhoid in any of our 46 prisons across the country,” she said.

“Our health services team is very alert on the implications of a typhoid outbreak in our prisons, hence they are putting all procedures in place to avert the spread of this disease.”

Supt Mthembo said prisons were prioritising preventive measures to curb any outbreaks.

“We are concentrating on preventive measures on the spread of typhoid, educating our officers and inmates on proper hygiene and the importance of proper waste management skills,” she said.

“As you are aware, we have been allowing food from outside, particularly our remand section, but with the growing fears of a typhoid outbreak, all the food items that are brought forward by visitors are being thoroughly screened.”

She said environment health technicians and dieticians within the organisation had been tasked with the extensive food screening process before it is given to the inmates.

“We are also limiting the amounts of cooked foodstuffs an inmate should be given, what he or she can consume in one go without saving for a later date or time,” Supt Mthembo said.

“It is also a continued appeal that relatives should bring more dry foods. Preferably, we will accept peelable fruits like bananas.

Supt Mthembo said the introduction of isolation wards in prisons would allow rapid assessments of typhoid infected inmates.

“We have set aside isolation wards to make sure that inmates with typhoid are easily identified and quarantined up until they have been fully treated,” she said.

“These isolation wards are there to support our already existent clinics and small wards across all prisons as we are also making good use of testing kits that have been availed by some health institutions for easy detection of the disease.”

Government has pledged to continue working on holistic plans to address social determinants of health, which are expected to ultimately end water-borne diseases nationwide.