Notes to the report compiled through Thursday hinted at the difficulties facing authorities trying to bring the persistent epidemic to a halt. Cholera treatment centers are having trouble ensuring supplies of clean water, as in Makonde and Zvimba, Mashonaland West province.

Authorities were trying to respond to an outbreak in the Gokwe South district of Midlands province, but Mateta ward the nearest medical facility was 30 kilometers away.

A new cholera treatment center was set up in Bikita, Masvingo province, where local authorities reported 17 deaths resulting from 26 cases of the disease.

VOA News – Cholera Epidemic Spurs Rare Cooperation Between NGOs and Zimbabwe Government

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The World Health Organization says more than 40,448 people have been infected by the disease since the outbreak began in August.

The figures released Wednesday by WHO show that the fatality rate for the newly added cases stands at 12.6 percent. The average fatality rate from cholera in Zimbabwe is at 5.2 percent. Both are far above the 1 percent considered normal in large-scale outbreaks.

Cholera has spread in Zimbabwe because of the country’s crumbling health care system and water supply infrastructure.

The Associated Press: UN says cholera has killed 2,106 in Zimbabwe

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His statement is in stark contradiction of the daily updates on the state of Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic from the World Health Organisation, which said today that at least 783 had died of the disease and 16,403 had been infected as of yesterday.

Today South Africa declared its border with Zimbabwe a disaster zone because of the surge of people trying to cross the border, either fleeing the disease or seeking medical treatment, as Zimbabwe’s economy and health care system has largely collapsed.

“I am happy to say our doctors have been assisted by others and WHO (the World Health Organization)… so now that there is no cholera,” said Mr Mugabe, in a speech screened on national television.

The veteran President, who has led Zimbabwe ever since independence from British colonial rule 28 years ago, linked international concern at Zimbabwe’s plight to what he regarded as a plot to oust him from power.

He denounced calls by Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and President Bush for him to step down.

“Because of cholera, Mr Brown, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Bush want military intervention. Now that there is no cholera, there is no need for war,” he said.

“The cholera cause doesn’t exist any more.

“Shall we also say that (because) there is mad cow disease, there must be war, Britain must be invaded? Mr Brown, your head must go for some medical correction.”

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Limpopo provincial government in northern South Africa revealed today that the area had been accorded disaster status at an emergency meeting this week.

“The whole of the Vhembe district has been declared a disaster,” said Mogale Nchabeleng. “Extraordinary measures are needed to deal with the situation.”

Cholera has also been reported spreading into neighbouring Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana.

The outbreak has prompted calls from Britain, France and the US for international humanitarian assistance to be sent into Zimbabwe. Western leaders and some African leaders have also called on Mr Mugabe to resign.

Zimbabwean government spokesmen have repeatedly accused the West of using the cholera epidemic – the worst in Zimbabwe’s history – to try to oust Mr Mugabe. They also blame Western sanctions for ruining the once relatively prosperous southern African country, where inflation is so high that prices double every 1.3 days.

Mr Mugabe’s critics say it is his policies which have wrecked the Zimbabwean economy and led to the deaths of thousands of his people. Half the population is dependent on foreign food aid in a country that until recently exported food to its neighbours.

Mr Mugabe remains deadlocked with Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, over implementing a power-sharing deal.

Times Online

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A total of 9,908 cases have been recorded in the impoverished southern African country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, raising an earlier toll of 389 dead out of 9,463 affected.

Warning of “alarming regional dimension,” it said the health ministries of South Africa and Zimbabwe are striving to coordinate their efforts together with the World Health Organization.

“The rapid deterioration of the health service delivery system in Zimbabwe, lack of adequate water supply, and inability to dispose of solid waste and repair sewage blockages in most areas will continue to contribute to the escalation and spread of the outbreak,” said OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs.

Cholera is now hitting the whole of eastern Zimbabwe and spreading, she said, as UN humanitarian agencies aim to ensure delivery of medical supplies, clean drinking water and water purification kits.

Byrs said basic hygiene kits comprising a bucket or jerry can, soap and water treatment tablets have been distributed to at least 4,000 households in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokeswoman Veronique Taveau said that unlike previous outbreaks that mainly affected rural areas, the current epidemic is affecting densely-populated urban centres, “which leads to its rapid expansion and makes it harder to fight against the disease.”

Jean-Philippe Chauzy of the International Organization for Migration said Zimbabweans fleeing deprivation in their country were contributing to spreading the disease.

South Africa has reported seven cholera deaths over the last two weeks, all Zimbabweans or people who had recently come from the country.

Phuti Seloba, health department spokesman in the South African border town of Musina, said that dozens of cholera patients from Zimbabwe enter the country every day.

South African health authorities have set up five cholera treatment centres along the border to handle the influx, he added.

Zimbabwe belatedly changed its tune Thursday and asked for international help to fight the outbreak after long insisting that the situation was under control.

“With the coming of the rainy season, the situation could get worse,” said deputy health minister Edwin Muguti. “Our problems are quite simple. We need to be helped.”

Channelnewsasia.com

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Poorly maintained sewerage systems and a lack of clean water have allowed the waterborne intestinal disease to thrive. The deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has crippled the country’s health system. The W.H.O. warned that the outbreak was likely to continue as water and sanitation conditions were worsening. The aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned that 1.4 million people are at risk.

NYTimes.com

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