The Harare City Council says a local resident has died of typhoid while the number of those affected by the disease has risen to 23 since the first case was reported last month.
Council spokesperson Michael Chideme says the local authority is doing all it can to contain the disease in Glen Norah, Gen View, Budiriro, Hatfield and Hopley suburbs.
Typhoid is spread through poor sanitary conditions, especially dirty drinking water and contaminated food.
Chideme says as a local authority, they are worried that the number of cases recorded continues to rise.
“We are very much concerned with the loss of life and the ballooning number of people being diagnosed as positive to typhoid, that is worrying us a lot,” says Chideme.
He says his council has taken all necessary measures to make sure that it contains the typhoid with all departments geared up to deal with the problem.
Even though the disease has claimed a life, Chideme says the number of cases recorded so far do not yet qualify to call it an outbreak.
“It’s not yet an outbreak because the law stipulates that it can only qualify after the numbers are above 30 or 40.”
Chideme says his council is also conducting outreach programs to make sure that all illegal food vending sites are destroyed.
