Zimbabwe's failing infrastructure, with burst sewer pipes and persistent water shortages, has triggered a diarrhoea outbreak in Harare, a senior city official said. Harare's director of health services, Prosper Chonzi, said some 900 diarrhoea cases were recorded every day in the capital's 60 clinics, where people received free treatment. Mr Chonzi said the outbreak coincided with the escalation of water supply problems in Harare. Tests confirmed that contaminated water was the main cause.
Last month, a diarrhoea outbreak killed 20 children who had drunk suspected contaminated water in Kadoma, 140 kilometres west of Harare. Several people from two Harare townships contracted cholera after drinking water from shallow wells.
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