Though the World Health Organization says the cholera epidemic afflicting Zimbabwe seems to have peaked with new infections in decline, health experts warn against complacency and are urging authorities to push ahead with overhauls of water and sanitation systems.
The latest WHO update on the epidemic reports 255 new cases and nine more deaths for a total of 4,072 fatalities since cholera flared in the country in August 2008. But weekly reports have traced a marked downtrend in new cases from alarming levels in February.
Executive Director Itayi Rusike of the Community Working Group on Health said it is early days to declare victory over cholera, however.
He told reporter Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the battle against cholera could be set back if the epidemic's root causes are not addressed.
