20 dead and a further 2300 infected in latest outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe

Church leaders in Zimbabwe have asked for prayer from Christians round the world following an outbreak of cholera in Harare. Sources in the Central African nation tell Anglican Ink the outbreak began in the western Glen View suburb and a number of children have died from the disease. South Africa’s Business Day reports 20 people have died and a further 2300 have been infected with the disease. The outbreak is believed to have been caused by sewage contaminating water wells in the high density suburbs of Glen View and Budiriro on the western edge of the city. Much of the city’s infrastructure has decayed in recent years, and much new construction built without access to utility services.  Most residents depending on water from wells. Zimbabwe’s new health minister, Obadiah Moyo, has declared a state of emergency, and reports that cholera has been reported in four provinces across the country. In August 2008 a cholera epidemic erupted in Mashonaland and by December had spread to all ten provinces of the Central African nation and to neighboring South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana. By the end of the epidemic in July 2009, the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health reported 4,369 deaths and 98,596 cases of infection — with at least half of the infections found in Budiriro. The cause was found to be sewage contaminating well water.