Zimbabwe in huge cholera vaccination drive after 49 deaths

Zimbabwe has embarked on a massive vaccination drive as it battles a cholera outbreak that has killed at least 49 people.

Health Minister Obadiah Moyo says the , with help from the World Health Organization, is targeting more than 500,000 people between Wednesday and Sunday. Moyo says close to 1 million more people will be vaccinated starting next week.

The government says the outbreak has sickened more than 9,000 people mostly in the capital, Harare, since September.

Many fear a repeat of 2008 when cholera killed more than 4,000 people at the height of the southern African country's economic and political problems.

Water and sewer infrastructure has collapsed, with raw sewage flowing freely in some Harare streets.

Recently elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed to fight the "medieval" disease.

© 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Zimbabwe in huge cholera vaccination drive after 49 deaths (2018, October 3) retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-zimbabwe-huge-cholera-vaccination-deaths.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Zimbabwe declares cholera outbreak after 20 deaths

1 shares

Feedback to editors