A total of 774 people have died in the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe and suspected cases have climbed to 15,219, the United Nations' World Health Organisation (WHO) said today.
WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said the latest death figure - nearly 200 up on the 589 deaths the agency reported on Tuesday - covered the period up to December 8. "The numbers are changing every day," she added.
Yesterday, the WHO said up to 60,000 people could be infected with cholera in the worst-case scenario envisaged by its experts and other medical personnel on the spot. It then gave the number of cases suspected as 13,960.
The Zimbabwe government claims the outbreak is under control.
The outbreak, which follows months of violence and political turmoil in the country, is the worst recorded in Zimbabwe. The WHO says hospitals and health centres in the country are unable to provide victims with simple life-saving drugs.
The spreading cholera, coupled with chronic food shortages, has highlighted the economic collapse of the southern African country and brought renewed calls from Western leaders for veteran President Robert Mugabe to resign.
Zimbabwe's government accuses the Western countries of exploiting the epidemic to try to bring him down.
Reuters