GOVERNMENT has moved swiftly to avert disaster after over 60 cases of diarrhoea were reported in Bulawayo’s Pumula North suburb in the last three weeks.
Residents have blamed water shedding for the situation as on average, tap water is available three days a week in most suburbs.
The Ministry of Local Government, Public works and National Housing immediately ordered the suspension of water shedding in the suburb. Residents are also accessing free treatment for stomach aches at clinics while mobile teams do door-to-door campaigns to teach families how to avoid diarrhoea.
Memories of the city’s worst outbreak in recent years, which was reported in June 2020 when 13 people died and nearly 2 000 fell ill in Luveve suburb after raw sewage contaminated drinking water, still haunt residents.
Recently, one person died when about 157 had running tummies at Tshabalala Extension.
Pumula North Councillor Sikhululekile Moyo yesterday confirmed the diarrhoea cases in the suburb.
She said the first case was reported on January 27 and she immediately alerted the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works And National Housing and measures for stopping the outbreak were immediately introduced.
“Since that week council is no longer shedding water in Pumula North as a way of containing the outbreak. We have also put special attention to dealing with the outbreak as people are assisted for free at the clinic. We also have health care workers who do door-to-door rounds at homes teaching people how best to avoid the outbreak and always practice good hygiene,” said Clr Moyo.
She said although new cases are still being recorded, they seem to be getting lower following the interventions and she is hopeful they will soon decline.
Residents said when water returned after shedding — before the Local Government ministry ordered its suspension — it was sometimes dirty, but they could not always boil it because of power outages.
Some said they had resorted to harvesting rainwater and they believe that was among the root causes of the diarrhoea.
Mrs Eveline Ncube said her whole family had been sick for days.
She said when diarrhoea hit her family of six they went to the clinic where they were given tablets to purify water and advised to get water from clean sources.
Despite the advice, Mrs Ncube said, drinking clean water had been difficult because of water shedding.
“As it is, we are relying on harvesting water from our asbestos when it is raining because of water rationing. We know the water is not clean, however, there is nothing we can do because that will be an easily available source of water. Despite having a timetable, the water does not return at the stipulated time and we end up going for days without it,” she said.
Another resident, Mr Darlington Dube, said people often do not get time to clean their water buckets so they drink contaminated water.
He said some of the cases are mild, so residents might easily misdiagnose them as a normal stomach ache.
“We only get water for two days maximum. Because of this, most of the buckets will not be clean and people end up filling water into the dirty buckets. The reason for this is that most homes have people who spend the day at school and work so when they get home late, they will be tired and won’t have time to first clean the buckets,” said Mr Ncube.
Miss Melitha Lupahla said her two children had loose stools and a high fever a few days ago.
She said although the symptoms were not severe, she rushed to the clinic and was happy with the quick response she got and the pills to control the outbreak.
“Two more people from where l am renting also complained of running stomachs, although l am not sure if it was diarrhoea. My conclusion is my children and the two others got the waterborne disease from the toilet that we are sharing because three families live in this house and water is a problem as it is unavailablefor days. Keeping a toilet used by many people clean when there is no water is impossible,” said Miss Luphahla.
She said the Government should consider doing away with water shedding in the city since dam levels are improving following recent heavy rains.
Another resident, Mrs Ntombizile Gama, said she has been using water guard pills she got from the local clinic and since then her family has not been having issues with diarrhoea.
She said because of the continuous water shedding, residents should take advantage of the water purification tablets as they are distributed for free at the clinic.
“Boiling water is now difficult because we hardly ever have electricity. The best solution at the moment is to get the water guard pills because they have been working even for me. People should avoid diarrhoea at all costs, especially because there is a water problem that we are facing,” said Mrs Gama.
A comment could not be obtained from Bulawayo city council senior public relations officer Mrs Nesisa Mpofu as she had not responded to questions e-mailed to her last week.
Diarrhoea is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day.
Signs and symptoms associated with diarrhoea may include abdominal cramps or pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, fever, blood in the stool, and mucus in the stool. – The Chronicle
