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Rainy Season Brings New Cholera Outbreaks in Zimbabwe, Five Deaths Reported


Five people have died of cholera in Zimbabwe since the beginning of September out of 116 cases, according to the World Health Organization, signaling that as anticipated the disease has broken out again with the onset of seasonal rains which spread bacteria.

A cholera epidemic which ran from August 2008 into the first half of 2009 claimed more than 4,000 lives before the government announced in July that it had ended.

The WHO attributed the latest cases to inadequate supplies of clean water, identifying the worst-affected areas as Gokwe North in Midlands province with 55 cases and Chipinge in Manicaland province with 32 new cases of cholera.

Despite the new outbreaks, WHO Country Representative Custodia Mandhlate said Zimbabwe is much better prepared to deal with the disease than it was last year.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...

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