SAfrica declares cholera disaster on Zimbabwe border

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SAfrica declares cholera disaster on Zimbabwe border Dec 11

MUSINA, South Africa, (AFP) – South Africa has declared a cholera

disaster on its border with Zimbabwe, as a spillover from a deadly

epidemic strains health resources, a government official said Thursday.

" The provincial government took a decision that the whole of the

Vhembe district should be declared a disaster area, " northern Limpopo

provincial government spokesman Mogale Nchabeleng told AFP.

The Vhembe district includes Musina, a bustling town at the 24 hour

border crossing between South Africa and the cholera-hit town of

Beitbridge in Zimbabwe.

The disaster status would free up funding and focus relief efforts,

Nchabeleng said.

" It helps to cut on government bureaucracy and speed up the pace of

the response. "

" We are likely to experience problems, " he said, adding " the sooner

you come in, the better. It's under control but we would not want to

leave to chance. "

South African Health Minister Barbara Hogan visited the affected

region on Wednesday to assess the situation.

Musina is also the entry point for thousands of illegal immigrants

fleeing the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, where the latest United

Nations death toll has risen to 775 lives.

" These people come in infected and have to be treated. That has been a

strain on the capacity of our health infrastructure to respond, " said

Nchabaleng.

Eight people have died of cholera in Limpopo province, two of them

South African, while 664 cases have been treated, local health

officials said.

Aid agencies have warned of Zimbabwe's cholera crisis spreading to

neighbouring countries, and the regions's shared waterway, the Limpopo

River, has tested positive for cholera.

The cholera epidemic is the latest turmoil to hit Zimbabwe where a

power-sharing deal signed about three months ago has floundered over

the distribution of key ministries between President Mugabe and

opposition leader Tsvangirai.

The United Nations said that more than 16,000 cholera cases have been

reported in Zimbabwe.

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