THE city of Gweru has been hit by a diarrheal outbreak, a senior municipal official said on Tuesday. City Health and Housing committee chairman John Manyundwa said no cause for the outbreak had been established but suspected contaminated water some residents were using.
He urged people to seek medical treatment as soon as they suspected to be infected. “We have not done any investigations and that is why I am insisting that those with symptoms should visit our clinics so that samples are taken in order for laboratory tests to be done. We want to ascertain the actual cause of the diarrhoea,” he said.
“May I take this opportunity to advise those who are having diarrheal problems to quickly visit our nearest clinic. Those in Mkoba 4 and 5 should go to either Mkoba 1 Polyclinic or Mkoba 13. “Most diarrheal cases have been recorded in Mkoba 9, 10 and 11 probably due to the fact that they are low lying areas with rampant sewer blockages. Mkoba 4 and 5 could be following suit though no tests have been done,” he said.
Manyundwa said the high-density suburbs of Mkoba 9, 10 and 11 had the highest number of cases reported. There was shock in the city last week when residents got muddy water from their taps, which is suspected to have been unclean. — New Ziana
