Zimbabwean officials call for improvements to water, sanitation systems to prevent further typhoid outbreaks

Zimbabwean health officials responding to typhoid outbreaks in the capital of Harare that have affected more than 2,000 people "have called on the local and central governments to overhaul water and sanitation systems" to stem the spread of the disease, VOA News reports. Portia Manangazira, chief of epidemiology and disease control in the Ministry of Health, "said Zimbabwean and international health authorities responded well to the crisis," which has raised "fears for many Zimbabweans of the deadly 2008-2009 cholera epidemic which hit tens of thousands and left more than 4,200 people dead," the news service writes.

"Most of the 41 Harare suburbs hit by typhoid have long been without running water," but "Harare city authorities have acknowledged they cannot supply water to all residents," according to VOA, which adds, "Harare deputy mayor Emmanuel Chiroto says the city is slowly getting the crisis under control. But it is still too early to say whether the typhoid threat can be neutralized by the measures the authorities have been able to take so far" (Nyaira, 2/14).