Inside Zimbabwe's Cholera Epidemic

Main Category: GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Also Included In: Aid / Disasters;  GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
Article Date: 23 Dec 2008 - 5:00 PST

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I am feeling a little uncomfortable," says the middle-aged man lying in the dirt behind the main hospital in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe. His name is Henry. He is so dehydrated his cheeks look collapsed and his eyes protrude from his closely cropped skull. Médicins San Frontieres (MSF) nurse Clara Chamizo is struck by the absurdity of the notion that Henry is feeling only a little uncomfortable lying on the ground, amidst the dozens of cholera patients who have overwhelmed this border town of 40 000 like a wildfire.

"Normally, cholera starts with a few cases, and then we have the peak after a few weeks," says MSF Emergency Coordinator Luis Maria Tello.

That is not the case in Beitbridge, a town of about 20 000 people, 527 km south of Harare on the border of South Africa. On Nov. 14, 2008, Zimbabwe health authorities reported 5 cases. Two days later, there were 500. Now, 2 weeks later, there are 1500, and there is no sign the exponential growth will end. Tello surmises that they all "got the cholera from the same source at the same time."

Initially, patients were placed inside the hospital, with most lying on the floor. With only 1 or 2 cleaning staff, the hospital toilets quickly backed up. There was also a shortage of cleaning supplies and water, and the level of hygiene quickly deteriorated.

Click here to read the Whole Article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .