Diarrhoea outbreak affects 157, kills one

ONE person died of dehydration as a result of diarrhoea in Tshabalala this week as the city continues battling erratic water supplies which have left residents at risk of developing water borne diseases.
This comes at a time when Bulawayo has been hit by a diarrhoea outbreak which affected 157 residents since the outbreak was first reported on November 28.
The city is currently under a 72-hour water shedding regime and during this time there is possible contamination and a risk of impurities entering the water pipelines during the water rationing exercise.
Council Director of Health Services Dr Edwin Sibanda confirmed the death saying so far it is the only one that had been recorded although there are claims more could have died as a result of the water crisis.
He said as of Thursday, a cumulative total of 1093 diarrhea cases had been recorded in Bulawayo from different suburbs.
“We have since collected 71 stool specimen in the city where cases had been detected and so far 15 water samples have been collected and results show that five of them are unsatisfactory. In the meantime, we are ensuring continuous uninterrupted water supply in the area, while the teams check on the water pipes supplying the area,” he said.
“We are also intensifying attendance to sewer bursts, water bursts and water leaks in the area as a precautionary measure. We encourage residents to boil their water for potable use,” added Dr Sibanda.
One of the affected residents Patricia Tshabalala said the water crisis keeps worsening and people are likely to die in numbers if council does not act quickly.

“We understand that someone else died after drinking council water and we cannot rule out the fact that the water crisis is putting our lives at risk. We understand that dam levels may not be favourable but council should be responsible and solve all issues so that we have normal access to water just like in the olden days,” she said. Tshabalala added that council was also failing to stick to publicised water rationing scheduling which made planning difficult especially for women who have a burden to ensure there is always water for household use.
Another resident, Margaret Gwatidzo said the water crisis also makes residents prone to contracting Covid-19 as there is no guarantee for hand hygiene.
“We struggle to have water most of the time and although council always promised that they are fixing broken pumps and pipes, there is no water most of the time. Now we are in the rainy season while Covid-19 cases are on the increase which leaves us at risk of dying of water borne diseases and Covid-19.”