Mutare on high alert as it records typhoid case

Mutare City Council’s health department has raised alarm bells and activated its disease surveillance system after it recorded one case of typhoid this week.

Mathew Chiduka, a senior official at Mutare council’s health department, told management on Tuesday that the city was now on high alert for the waterborne disease, which has claimed two lives in Harare and left dozens others hospitalised.

Councillors proposed that the local authority should put a roadblock at Christmas Pass to screen all travellers from Harare and ensure all suspected cases get emergency treatment. During the same meeting, councillors and management heard that only two of the council’s fleet of refuse trucks were operating, posing a major health hazard, as garbage collection has been compromised.