Diarrhoea claims 22 lives in a week

A total of 22 people have been succumbed to diarrhoea during the first week of January alone, the ministry of Health and Child Care has announced.

According to a government weekly surveillance report, the total diarrhoea cases reported during the week hit a massive 8 555 cases countrywide.

On the reported cases 3 909 and eight deaths were from the under-five age group. The completeness of the report is 93% as well from the under-five age group.

The provinces which reported the highest number of diarrhoea cases are Manicaland which recorded 1 663 and Mashonaland which recorded 1 663 and Mashonaland East which had 1 318 cases.

This figure was up by 10 from the 12 recorded during the first week of 2014.

According to the same report, the ministry has recorded 12 new suspected typhoid cases in other parts of the country while 34 confirmed cases of typhoid during the same week were reported in the capital alone.

Government has also scaled up its malaria prevention and awareness campaigns following reports that the disease had affected over 9 600 people and claimed 19 lives since the beginning of this year.