Typhoid Fever Outbreak - Harare, Zimbabwe, October 2016-March 2017

In October 2016, the Harare City Health Department (HCHD) surveillance system recorded the beginning of an upward trend in typhoid cases. On December 27, 2016, after the typhoid fever-associated death of a student, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) in Zimbabwe declared an outbreak of typ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2018, Vol.67 (11), p.342-343
Main Authors: Davis, William W, Chonzi, Prosper, Masunda, Kudzai P E, Shields, Lindsey M, Mukeredzi, Innocent, Manangazira, Portia, Govore, Emmaculate, Aubert, Rachael D, Martin, Haley, Gonese, Elizabeth, Ochieng, John B, Juma, Bonaventure, Ali, Hammad, Allen, Kristi, Barr, Beth A Tippett, Mintz, Eric, Appiah, Grace D
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Boreholes
Child care
Disease
Drinking water
Drought
Fatalities
Fever
Headache
International conferences
Medical laboratories
Municipal water
Outbreaks
Pain
Salmonella Typhi
Shallow wells
Suburbs
Typhoid
Water shortages
Water wells
Waterborne diseases
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Summary:In October 2016, the Harare City Health Department (HCHD) surveillance system recorded the beginning of an upward trend in typhoid cases. On December 27, 2016, after the typhoid fever-associated death of a student, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) in Zimbabwe declared an outbreak of typhoid fever. HCHD defined a suspected case in a resident of Harare City as an illness that began on or after October 6, 2016, with fever °100.4°Fahrenheit, body pains, headache, and abdominal pain. Patients with confirmed cases had blood or stool specimens positive for Salmonella Typhi. Assessments of affected suburbs identified 120 broken sewer lines and overcrowded apartment blocks with limited access to sanitary facilities. The area experienced frequent municipal water shortages because of an ongoing drought, and residents regularly relied on boreholes and shallow wells for drinking water. Of 32 boreholes in Mbare suburb, 18 were tested; of those were contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria. Mapping indicated that cases were clustered around contaminated boreholes.
ISSN:0149-2195
1545-861X