02 December 2021
Lindie Dube
Tshabalala Extension a suburb in the Western areas of Bulawayo has been plagued with cases of diarrhoea.
The outbreak was confirmed by the City Health department who issued a statement yesterday.
lt is said over 500 families have been affected after allegedly drinking contaminated water, with many being rushed to hospital.
Diarrhoea is a digestive
tract disorder that commonly causes loose stools and abdominal cramps is caused by drinking contaminated water.
The Bulawayo City Council issued a press statement stating that ;
“The City of Bulawayo received a report from a Tshabalala Extension resident on the 28th of November 2021 of a possible diarrhoeal outbreak and that some residents had started experiencing diarrhoea and vomiting”.
Records obtained from Tshabalala Clinic showed that the number of diarrhoea cases had exceeded the threshold thus confirming the outbreak.
All age groups seemed to be affected.
The City is currently under a 72 hour water shedding regime and during this time there is possible ingress of impurities into the water lines when water has been closed.
Residents are therefore advised to boil water for potable use .
Residents of the Tshabalala believe that the water comes back dirty leading to them falling sick.
“The water might look clear but it’s dirty, we have resorted to buying purified water instead because we can not afford being sick”. Said a resident who preferred to be annonymous.
In an interview with Southern eye Sibonginkosi Ngwenya, a resident said her family members were affected, including her 19-year old-son who is set to sit for Advanced level examinations.
“My son is likely to miss the examinations because of the illness. The worst part is that he is supposed to sit for the Maths paper. I do not know whether he will be allowed to sit in future”
Water shortages have had a number of drastic negative impacts , they generally result in strigent water rationing, which further causes an increase in diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.
People are unable to bathe or flush their toilets, Many may resort to using the bush or public places.
This as well might lead to the outbreak of others diseases like Cholera.
Residents in places like Cowdray park are said to be resoluted to digging holes to get water.
In 2019,at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, over 29 residents of Old Luveve lost their lives due to dysentery. It is believed tblhat sewer water sepped into the water pipeline supplying water to the area. The suburd lost breadwinners, grandparents and young children as old as 7 years due to diarrhoea.
The figures of those who died because of drinking contaminated water was given as less than 10 whereas the residents association recorded a number that exceeded 20.
No fatalities have been reported in the current outbreak at the time of writing this report.
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