2018–2019 Zimbabwe cholera outbreak

The 2018–2019 Zimbabwe cholera outbreak began on 1 September 2018, and the last reported case occurred on 12 March 2019.[1] The Zimbabwean government declared a national emergency on 6 September 2018.[1] The cholera outbreak originated in Glenview, a suburb in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital city, and then spread to the following provinces in Zimbabwe: Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Bulawayo, Mashonaland Central, Midlands, Masvingo and Matebeleland South.[1] The last report from the World Health Organization (WHO) Afro regional office has listed the outbreak as a closed event with the outbreak running from 6 September 2018 to 12 March 2019.[2] They were a total of 10,421 cases, and 69 people died as a result of the outbreak.

There were several risk factors associated with the outbreak described by the WHO, including intermittent supplies in Harare, particularly in high-density suburbs such as Glenview, the epicenter of the outbreak.[3] The city council was also unable to supply enough water for Harare, creating shortages due to the increasing urban population.[3]

These shortages led to sanitation issues as people began to use unregulated wells and boreholes, leading people in Harare drinking contaminated water.[3] The deteriorating sanitation infrastructure is leading to issues such as raw sewage flowing in areas of Harare.[3] Another sanitation issue was the informal traders selling items such as fruit exacerbating the outbreak.[3] Four cholera treatment centers were set up in Harare to deal with the initial outbreaking cholera.[3] The WHO began a campaign to vaccinate 1.4 million people in Harare against cholera for people living in areas at most risk of contracting the disease in October 2018.[4]

To address the water supply issues in key hotspots affected by cholera through increasing water supply through water trucking, adding water tanks, and repairing existing water infrastructure.[3] To address sanitation issues, items such as soap and chlorination tablets were distributed to households in hotspot areas.[3]