Zimbabweans urged not to relax efforts in containing Cholera

HARARE, Jan. 26 (Chinese media) -- Zimbabweans have been urged to not to relax their efforts in containing cholera epidemics as Harare is finally seeing cholera start to retreat, local media reported on Monday.

The major medical and education effort has brought down the number of new cases to a few dozen each day in the capital city, The Herald reported on Monday.

The milestone reached last week, when no one died of cholera in the city on Wednesday, is important, but does not mean the epidemic is over, the daily newspaper said.

Cholera is still present in the city, especially the south-western suburbs, and any relaxation in guard and efforts will see the case-load explode. The only change now necessary is to perhaps switch some of the effort from fighting the disease to preventing it, the newspaper said.

The newspaper warned that even if cholera is eliminated in Harare, Zimbabweans could not let up their guard. The disease is still virulent in several other districts of Zimbabwe and all it needs is one person coming to Harare and, without adequate precautions, starting the whole epidemic again, it said.

"What the slow retreat of the disease actually means is that we are on the right track, but need to redouble our preventative measures rather than abandon them," the newspaper said.

"We have to continue striving to ensure that all suburbs, but especially the poorer suburbs, receive adequate supplies of safe water, that sewers work and that strenuous efforts are maintained to ensure everyone follows basic hygiene rules and that sewage and water supplies do not mix," it commented.

Cholera tends to hit the poor the most, although no one is exempt, simply because they find it hardest to get safe water, buy safe food and buy the chemicals or fuel needed to ensure that all water and food consumed at home is safe.

"As we start moving away from the firefighting efforts towards longer-term prevention, we need to boost efforts to have the city's water supply and sewer systems fixed. At the same time, the education campaign needs to become permanent," the newspaper said.