New cholera outbreak kills five

HARARE — Five people have died in a new cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe where more than 4,000 people were killed in the country’s worst-ever outbreak of the disease last year, state media reported Tuesday.

Health secretary Gerald Gwinji told the Herald newspaper that 117 cholera cases had been confirmed in several parts of Zimbabwe since infections were reported last month in the country’s east.

The United Nations Children’s Fund warned in August that the nation’s crumbling infrastructure made another outbreak almost inevitable, especially after the rainy season begins in November.

“Most of the cases were recorded in Gokwe north among religious objectors who for a long time have been reluctant to seek medical attention,” Gwinji told the state-controlled newspaper.

Last year Zimbabwe experienced its worst cholera outbreak in history, which killed over 4,200 people and sickened nearly 100,000 from August to July this year.

The outbreak erupted in August as post-election violence was sweeping the country, while public services including hospitals and clinics shut down. Source: AFP