You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Africa Subsaharan
Zimbabwe Government Downplays Gravity Of Diahrreal Disease Outbreaks
2007-08-21
The Zimbabwean government has denied that a sharp increase in cases of diarrhea is related to chronic water shortages in Harare and other cities, although the state-run Herald newspaper has quoted Harare's top health official, Prosper Chonzi, as saying city health centers are treating around 900 cases of diarrheal disease a day.

Chonzi told the Herald that public health officials fear "the situation might get out of hand" if there the regular flow of water to Zimbabwean cities is not restored. Most of the country's major cities have had severe water shortages in recent months due to electrical power shortages, breakdowns, or a lack of water purification chemicals.

But Deputy Health Minister Edwin Muguti told reporter Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that there is no evidence the "watery diarrhea and dysentery" are linked to water shortages, adding that the latest outbreaks are not "serious."
"No, no, certainly not!"
But opposition lawmaker Blessing Chebundo, chairman of the parliamentary committee on health, said that in cities where the Zimbabwe National Water Authority has taken over municipal water systems, residents have been going without water for days or weeks, increasing their risk of infection by drinking water from other sources.
Posted by:Fred

#11  Amoebic dysentery, or Typhus?

Not amoebic dysentery, mojo. The first sign of that is sudden onset heavy bleeding from the rectum. (Think a flood of blood, like when a pregnant woman's water breaks.) When Mr. Wife fell ill with amoebic dysentery while on a business trip in India, the bleeding was so heavy he called home to say goodbye, in case he died en route to the hospital.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-08-21 22:56  

#10  I'm just trying to get over gov't officials whose names are "Blessing" and "Prosper" in a God-forsaken place like Zim-bob-we.


Most of these may be literal translations of their names. Don;t forget that most of the Western names you hear have meanings in the root languages they come from.
Posted by: Jame_Retief   2007-08-21 20:49  

#9  I'm just trying to get over gov't officials whose names are "Blessing" and "Prosper" in a God-forsaken place like Zim-bob-we.

*mind boggles*
Posted by: BA   2007-08-21 20:43  

#8  Cholera would be the big one.
Posted by: Grunter   2007-08-21 18:42  

#7  I wonder if government officials would volunteer for a round or two of this, with the same access to medical care, food, etc. as the little people.
Posted by: gorb   2007-08-21 15:03  

#6  It'll pass.
Posted by: xbalanke   2007-08-21 13:27  

#5  Caucasians: The Other White Meat...
Posted by: tu3031   2007-08-21 11:34  

#4  Amoebic dysentery, or Typhus?
Posted by: mojo   2007-08-21 11:25  

#3  A nice billboard from London, involontary very relevant about zimbobwe and south africa :



Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-08-21 11:03  

#2  Starvation, mosquitoes, diarrhea..... Rinderpest....?
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-08-21 09:08  

#1  All part of Bob's plan to reduce the surplus population.
Posted by: gromky   2007-08-21 08:11  

00:00