HARARE

A diarrhoea outbreak has claimed the lives of 29 children and five adults in the last two weeks in Zimbabwe, which has been experiencing water shortages as a result of frequent disruptions of supplies, according to a UN official.

"The problem [diarrhoea outbreak] is related to the water pumping capacity in the affected areas, and we are aware that it is something that can happen again and again," said James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) in Zimbabwe. Most of the deaths have occurred in Kadoma, a mining town in Mashonaland West Province in the north.

"We are taking the situation seriously and we are on the ground, together with WHO [World Health Organisation] and the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare. We have managed to contain the outbreak, but we will continue monitoring the situation so that lives are not lost again," he added.

Water and power cuts are frequent in Zimbabwe, which is grappling with an economy hit by an annual inflation rate of around 4,000 percent, shortages of foreign currency and a steep increase in the cost of essential services such as health, water and electricity.

A severe shortage of foreign currency means service providers cannot maintain or replace ageing water purification and distribution equipment, or import power from neighbouring countries to keep waterworks functioning.

Urban residents are being forced to use water from streams into which raw sewage and industrial effluent are being discharged. A lack of potable water is among the root causes of the outbreak.

According to the WHO, cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the vibrio cholerae bacterium. It has a short incubation period, from less than a day to five days, and causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhoea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death without prompt treatment.

Last week the official daily newspaper, The Herald, quoted Wenselaus Nyamayaro, a provincial medical director, as saying that 20 people had died in the mining town of Kadoma, which has a population of about 80,000 people.

"The town has been hit by an outbreak of diarrhoea over the past two weeks, but we worked hard to isolate ... [the bacteria] and we can now safely say the situation is under control," he said.

Unhygienic conditions

Richard Mbaleni, who lives in the populous, poor suburb of Rimuka in Kadoma, said deaths resulting from suspected diarrhoea and cholera were "something we live with every week".

"For years, we have seen many people die because of the unhygienic conditions under which we live. There are several sections of the suburb that have gone without water for more than eight months, and residents are forced to use the bucket system when relieving themselves, thereby getting exposed to communicable diseases," he said.

"To make matters worse, the sewer system is always breaking down and children often come into contact with flowing waste. It therefore comes as no surprise to have so many deaths."

UNICEF is installing water tanks in Kadoma's high-density suburbs and providing disinfectants in its fight to suppress further outbreaks.

Following reports of the deaths, residents elsewhere fear that they could also face an outbreak.

"These deaths should send a clear warning to the government and other stakeholders, because the conditions that have led to the diarrhoea outbreaks in those areas are also present in our own communities," said Cecilia Mauto of Waterfalls, a residential area southwest of the capital, Harare, which often goes without water for long periods.

"There is need to make sure that water supplies improve, even if it means having to dispatch water bowsers to areas that suffer ... water shortages," she added. "Public toilets are pathetic, as they usually are overflowing and there is no running water ... if this is not attended to we are bound for a national tragedy."