Yobe State government has confirmed that 906 fresh cases of cholera have been recorded in the state with 61 deaths while 50 others are still on admission in hospitals across the state....Read more via Daily Post Nigeria – https://ift.tt/2QQa4v6 Get More Nigeria Metro News</s>20 September 2018, Harare – the United Nations in Zimbabwe in partnership with Classic 263 – Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation radio station – rolled-out a roadshow in Glenview 3, one of the epicentres of the Cholera outbreak as part of increasing community engagement to contain the cholera outbreak.

Speaking on the side of the roadshow, UN Communications Specialist, Sirak Gebrehiwot said, “The aim of the roadshow was to raise awareness on the Cholera outbreak and ensure that people are sufficiently educated on the different ways to prevent the continued spread of the disease.” “The organising team has messages on prevention of cholera approved by the Ministry of Health and UN agencies involved in the response efforts to curb the cholera outbreak”, said Gebrehiwot.

Since the Cholera outbreak was first noticed on 5 September 2018, over 5000 cases have been reported with 38 deaths – most of which were in Harare. Cases of the disease have since spread to Chitungwiza, Marondera, Gokwe North, and Buhera to name a few. Although the country remains on high alert, the cases of Cholera reported per day have decreased significantly from a highest of 618 cases on 9 September to 108 cases on 19 September.

Members of the United Nations Communications Group that took part in the awareness raising campaign include: World Health Organization (WHO); United Nations Information Centre (UNIC); and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Other partners including the Harare City, Environmental Management Authority, Oxfam, youth artists and medical practitioners were part of the awareness raising campaign.

Addressing the communities in Glenview 3, Tafadzwa Mwale, UNIC Information Officer said, “It is critical for the community to adhere to the joint messages from Ministry of Health and Child Care, UNICEF and WHO, like avoiding shaking other people’s hands during a cholera outbreak.” Ms Mwale encouraged the gathering to use alternative ways of greeting people ensuring minimal hand contact.

Factors that increase the risk of cholera and typhoid outbreaks in Zimbabwe include low levels of health literacy, poor sanitation, inadequate provision of safe drinking water and poor personal hygiene practices.

The UN outreach and awareness raising team shared information materials relevant for the prevention of cholera which include: the need to wash hands with soap before eating or cooking; avoid shaking hands at public gatherings particularly funerals; drink boiled or treated water; wash fruits or vegetables under safe running water; no to open defecation and litter. Other information included to cook food thoroughly and eat whilst hot and that all cholera related deaths should be supervised by a health worker to prevent the spread of the disease.

Noting that cholera and typhoid can be prevented by maintaining personal hygiene, Ms Wendy Julias, WHO Communications Officer said, “cholera kills fast unless treated immediately and when you suspect cholera c visit nearest health facility immediately.”

Giving their feedback to the awareness raising, two young women, Primrose and Tabeth, who have been resident in Glenview 3 most of their lives, spoke of all the necessary measures they were taking to prevent falling victim to Cholera.

Primrose emphasized the importance of cleanliness in the home, consistent and thorough hand washing with the use of liquid soap, as well as boiling water for drinking and cooking. Now, although they have both received water treatment tablets from the local clinic, Tabeth explained that it is simply not enough. She said that each household received only one pack of 10 tablets from the clinic. Most have already run out, meaning they can now only rely on boiling water as a method of purifying their drinking water.

National officials have continued to express their commitment to ending Cholera outbreak, launching an appeal for funding for treatment supplies, pipe reconstruction, as well as to support Harare City Council in their efforts against the spread of the disease.

In response to the appeal announced by the Government the UN has scaled up support including deploying three emergency specialists from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) regional office who have joined WHO and UNICEF experts who have been working with Ministry of Health and Child Care since the onset of the cholera outbreak.</s>HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A cholera emergency has been declared in Zimbabwe’s capital after 20 people have died, the health minister said Tuesday.

The deaths in Harare have many fearing a repeat of the outbreak that killed thousands at the height of the southern African country’s economic problems in 2008. Water and sanitation infrastructure is collapsing.

While touring a hospital, Health Minister Obadiah Moyo told reporters this outbreak is spreading to other parts of the country.

“The numbers are growing by the day and to date there are about over 2,000 cases, that’s quite a big number,” the minister said, attributing the outbreak to shortages of safe drinking water and poor sanitation. “This whole problem has arisen as a result of blocked sewers. The other problem is that garbage hasn’t been collected on a regular basis. There is water problems, no water availability.”

Residents in some Harare suburbs have gone for months without tap water, forcing them to dig shallow wells and boreholes that have been contaminated by raw sewage flowing from burst pipes.

Cholera is caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and can kill within hours if untreated.

The U.N. children’s agency said it is assisting Zimbabwe’s government with hygiene and water provisions.

Tents have been erected at the Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital to cater for the growing number of patients.

In 2008, more than 4,000 people died from cholera, according to government figures.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>One person was reportedly killed and three others injured in a clash between the military and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Potiskum, Yobe State on Friday.

It was gathered that the fracas began shortly after the IMN members rounded off their Ashura procession with prayers around 8:30am near Central Hotel, Potiskum.

The Yobe State Police Commissioner, Abdulmaliki Sunmonu, who confirmed the incident to journalists said that three persons were injured during the clash.

He said that the JTF responded after the IMN members attempted to seize one of the security operatives’ rifle.

He said he was awaiting more details about the incident.

He said: “I will update you as soon as I get full details on the clash.”

A member of the IMN group, El-Tafseer, who spoke to journalists, said the police boss did not give the true reflection of what happened, he explained that they were attacked by the soldiers minutes after the Ashura procession had closed.

He said, “We just sighted the soldiers armed with guns and sticks approaching us. They started beating and harassing us to disperse.

“We began to run when they fired gunshots indiscriminately. Three people were injured and a teenager, not our member, was hit by a stray bullet in the head.

Newsmen were told that the indiscriminate gunshots threw the town into confusion with residents and passers-by scampering to safety.</s>(Bloomberg) -- A cholera outbreak in the northeast of Nigeria has caused 61 deaths in Yobe state, as the number of new confirmed cases surged to 989, the government and the United Nations said.

Fresh cases of the waterborne disease were recorded in six local government areas within two months, the state health commissioner, Muhammad Kawuwa, said in an emailed statement Friday. The affected local governments are Gujba, Gulani, Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere, he said.

“Over 795 patients were successfully treated and discharged, while 50 are still in various health facilities across the state,” Kawuwa said.

An outbreak of the disease was declared in neighboring Borno state two weeks ago, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria said in an emailed statement Saturday. The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths, the UN said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tope Alake in Lagos at talake@bloomberg.net;Michael Olukayode in Maiduguri at molugbode1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sophie Mongalvy at smongalvy@bloomberg.net, Jacqueline Mackenzie, Natasha Doff</s>One cholera victim died last week under admission at Rusape General Hospital and an eight months old patient was successfully treated and discharged this week.

This was confirmed by Makoni district medical office Dr Tendai Nyafesa in an interview who said the situation in the district was under control as there were no cholera cases that had emanated from the district.

He said in Masvosva village where a cholera victim burial was conducted without supervision of health officials, there was only one reported case of diarrhoea and the situation was normal in the village.

“We regret to announce that one of the cholera patients who was admitted at Rusape General Hospital died on Saturday around 5pm.

He was admitted together with his 8 months old child who only had diarrhoea. The child has since been discharged and reunited with his mother.

“These are people from Glenview in Harare. In Masvosva village, we only had one case of diarrhoea and no case of cholera there. We are treating all diarrhoea cases as cholera so we urge people to report all diarrhoea cases so that they are attended urgently.

“By discharging the patient this does not mean that the district is now cholera free. The ministry will officially announce to the public when the disease is successfully dealt with. People must continue to exercise good hygiene practices, wash hands with soap, eat hot food, boil water among others,’’ said Dr Nyafesa.

Meanwhile Zimbabwe Republic Police and Rusape Town Council have removed all illegal vendors from the streets. The operation started two weeks ago when District Civil Protection committee ordered the closure of all unlicenced backyard restaurants in Rusape.

Rusape has suddenly become clean following the removal of the vendors in the central business district and Vengere bus terminus.</s>Yobe government on Friday confirmed 906 fresh cases of cholera with 61 deaths and 50 others still on admission in hospitals across the state.

Dr Muhammad Kawuwa, the Commissioner for Health, stated this in a statement in Damaturu on Friday.

He said Acute Water Diarrhea (AWD) cases were reported in some parts of the state and later confirmed to be cholera after laboratory tests.

“Some of the AWD cases were caused by Vibrio bacterae, the bacteria that cause cholera,“ the commissioner said.

According to him, 906 cases are recorded in six local government areas of the state: Gujba, Gulani, Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere in two months.

“Over 795 patients were successfully treated and discharged, 50 are still on admission in various health facilities across the state.

“Unfortunately, we lost 61 patients mainly due to delays in timely reporting to the healthcare facilities for life saving treatment.”

Kawuwa said the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organisation (WHO), University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja were authenticating the causes of the outbreak.

“In the light of this and due to our continued concern for the health of our people, the state government is therefore declaring outbreak of cholera in the state.”

He said this was necessary to scale up response with the support of the international partners,

The commissioner identified personal hygiene, absence of sanitation facilities in the communities and flooding of water sources by the rains as possible causes of the outbreak.

He called on Water, Sanitation and Health sector partners, religious and traditional leaders and the people to cooperate and support government efforts in containing the outbreak and check its spread.

Yobe government had, three months ago, declared an earlier cholera outbreak in five local government areas of the state.

The local government areas are: Bade, Karasuwa, Jakusko, Yusufari and Bursari. The cholera was declared over after 21 days without a report of any new case.

The commissioner said the initial outbreak recorded 16 deaths in 404 cases with Bade Local Government having 379 cases, Karasuwa 16, Jakusko, four, Yusufari three and Bursari, two.(NAN)</s>HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s police said Wednesday that they are banning “public gatherings” in Harare in an effort to curb a cholera outbreak that has killed 21 people.

Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said in a statement Wednesday that the ban aims to alleviate “the continuous spread” of cholera in the capital, where the government has declared an emergency.

Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said Wednesday that the number of infections has risen to 3,067, up from just over 2,000 that were reported Tuesday.

Recent deaths include a school headmaster and two schoolchildren in Glen View, a poor suburb that has been identified as one of the epicenters of the outbreak. Moyo said a school in the suburb has been closed.

More than 4,000 people died in a cholera outbreak at the height of the southern African country’s economic problems in 2008. Since then, water and sanitation infrastructure has been collapsing.

The government has adequate stocks of medicine and is taking steps “to ensure that we do not go back to the 2008 situation,” Moyo said.

Residents in some Harare suburbs have gone for months without tap water, forcing them to dig shallow wells and boreholes that have been contaminated by raw sewage flowing from burst pipes.

There are also many street vendors whose food items, including meat, are sold in the streets near open sewers.

“It is essential that vending stops … and police are coming in to help with that,” said Moyo.

Cholera is caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and can kill within hours if untreated.

The ban on public gatherings comes as opposition leader Nelson Chamisa was planning a rally to conduct a mock inauguration ceremony, claiming he was cheated out of victory in elections held in July.

Chamisa visited some victims of the cholera outbreak on Wednesday.

The cholera outbreak highlights the failure of Zimbabwe’s government to maintain basic public health standards, said Amnesty International.

“The current cholera epidemic is a terrible consequence of Zimbabwe’s failure to invest in and manage both its basic water and sanitation infrastructure and its health care system,” said Jessica Pwiti, Executive Director of Amnesty International Zimbabwe, in a statement released Wednesday. “It is appalling that in 2018, people are still dying of such a preventable disease.”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Sixty-year-old Emma Zhakata winces, struggling to hold back tears as she relates how her husband, one of 32 cholera victims in Zimbabwe, died within hours of falling ill.

She never suspected her 69-year-old husband, Wonder Zhakata, would die suddenly after complaining that he felt weak and was suffering stomach pain.

After she rushed her husband to a clinic, he was led to a tent to wait for treatment among patients suffering from cholera.

She never saw him alive.

"That was the last time we were allowed to see him... When we called to ask after his condition, we were informed that he died of cholera," she told AFP at her home in a suburb of Harare.

"It's so scary that anyone of us can be walking now and the next moment, they are dead."

In just two weeks, the cholera outbreak gripping Zimbabwe has claimed at least 32 lives and more than 7,000 cases have been reported. The government has declared a public health emergency in the capital Harare, the worst affected area.

After her husband's death, Emma Zhakata's family had to pay officials $515 (440 euros) for him to be buried safely without the risk of infecting others.

"They did everything. We were not even allowed to do body viewing. It felt like dumping rather than giving him a decent burial," she said.

In Harare, public gatherings have been banned, street vendors ordered off the streets and people discouraged from shaking hands.

The gatherings even forced the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change to postpone a rally at which its leader Nelson Chamisa planned to proclaim himself victor of the July 30 presidential election.

Cholera outbreaks have occurred frequently in Zimbabwe's cities where supplies of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are scarce.

But President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded long-time despot Robert Mugabe following a brief army takeover in November, has pledged to tackle the current outbreak.

In his state of the nation address to parliament on Tuesday, Mnangagwa said the government would do all it could to fight "this medieval disease".

On Wednesday he toured cholera treatment centres in Harare where patients were being treated while others lay on stretchers in makeshift wards made from canvas and plastic.

The government has said at least $64 million is needed to bring the outbreak under control.

Last week newly-appointed Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube even launched a crowd-funding effort to raise cash, publicising bank details on Twitter and appealing for donations.

Harare's mayor Herbert Gomba said the city was also taking steps to contain the outbreak.

"We are doing pipe replacement. We have de-commissioned boreholes which were no longer safe," Gomba told journalists on Wednesday.

But he acknowledged that the city was still only supplying less than a third of the city's demand for water.

"We need new water sources and it requires one billion dollars to address the water situation adequately," he said.

Residents in affected areas have criticised the official response to the spread of the infection that is passed on by bacteria and affects the small intestine.

"We are living in fear. The authorities are not doing enough," said Evans Ndoro, 48, as he walked out of a local clinic where he had taken his son to receive treatment for a suspected case of cholera.

"We have a cholera outbreak here and yet they are not offering anything like disinfectants to protect the people. They are going around urging people to use sanitisers and detergents -- but how many of us can afford those?"

And though Health Minister Obadiah Moyo vowed that rubbish dumps would be removed from high-risk areas of Harare, residents are unimpressed.

"There is lots of garbage that has gone for months without being collected in most of the affected areas," added Ndoro. "The very soil that we are walking on is contaminated but the authorities don't seem to care."

Webster Nganunu, 29, said the outbreak showed the government was failing its citizens.

"How can we have cholera in this day and age?" he said as he queued to collect clean water from a tanker in a Harare suburb paid for by a local drinks company.

"We are all living in fear... These are deaths that could have been prevented. Some people should be jailed for this."</s>Yobe State government has confirmed that 906 fresh cases of cholera have been recorded in the state with 61 deaths while 50 others are still on admission in hospitals across the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muhammad Kawuwa, who made the disclosure in a statement in Damaturu, said Acute Water Diarrhea (AWD) cases were reported in some parts of the state and later confirmed to be cholera after laboratory tests, noting that some of the AWD cases were caused by Vibrio bacteria, which causes cholera.

Kawuwa explained that 906 cases were recorded in six councils of the state including Gujba, Gulani, Damaturu, Fune, Potiskum and Nangere in two months.

He said, “Over 795 patients were successfully treated and discharged, 50 are still on admission in various health facilities across the state.”
The government of Nigeria announces that 61 people have died and 50 others have been hospitalized from a cholera outbreak in Yobe.