HARARE, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people have died in the past week from a suspected cholera outbreak in Harare that has now spread to the Midlands province, state media reported Monday.
The outbreak happened in the city's high-density suburbs of Glen View and Budiriro to the southwest, with five having died by Friday.
Harare City Council director of health services Clemence Duri told The Herald that authorities are monitoring the affected areas and have deployed response teams.
"The death toll has risen to 16 after more people died of suspected cholera today (Sunday).
"Although we are not yet sure of the cause of deaths, we are suspecting it is cholera because of the symptoms presented," he said.
Duri said 106 people were admitted at an infectious diseases hospital in the city.
He urged residents to consume treated water and confirmed that some boreholes have been decommissioned.
Four more cases linked to the Harare outbreak have since been reported in Gokwe North, Midlands Province.
Although cholera cases hit the country almost yearly, many families still bear the scars of a cholera outbreak between Aug. 2008 and June 2009, when 98,596 cases of cholera were reported, resulting in 4,369 deaths across the country.
