Zimbabwe is experiencing the worst cholera outbreak in the history of the country with almost 3,600 deaths since August 2008 and more than 76,000 people infected with the life-threatening illness.

 

A report released by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reveals that the country’s whole health system has collapsed. MSF International President Dr. Christopher Fournier said the crisis in health care system has led to many hospitals being closed; fewer doctors; loss of medical staff; people dying at home because they have no money to afford treatment.

 

The Zimbabwe economy is down at this point mainly because of Robert Mugabe’s corrupt, violent and profoundly destructive reign, which has left more than 80 percent of the country’s population unemployed.

 

MSF wrote in the report that the lack of clean water together with the blocked sewage systems and the “uncollected refuse overflowing in the streets,” lead to this cholera outbreak. Also the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote on its Web site about the terrible condition. They explained that the disease is contracted "by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium.”

 

“In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person. The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water,” the CDC said.

 

To make things even worse, flooding from the rainy season is spreading the bacteria through swollen streams and rivers. The MSF report said that cholera cases have been reported in all of the country’s provinces.

 

Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but sometimes it can be severe. Approximately one in 20 infected persons has severe disease characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours.