Almost all wells and half the boreholes in Harare’s western district are contaminated with E. coli bacteria, a senior Harare City Council official has said.
E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a type of bacteria, commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals.
While most strains are harmless, some can cause illness, such as diarrhea or urinary tract infections.
According to City of Harare epidemiologist, Dr Michael Vere, all the city’s sewage effluent is deposited in its western district, resulting in 90 percent of cholera cases.
Lake Chivero, the main water source for Harare residents, is also heavily polluted, making cleaning the water very expensive. H-Metro quoted Vera as saying:
Some boreholes are contaminated with a sewer which needs a purifier installed. In the western district, 100 percent of the wells are contaminated and 50 percent of boreholes are contaminated as well.
Glen View, Glen Norah, Budiriro, Highfield, Mufakose, and surrounding farms make up the western district.
Vere implored men to practice good hygiene, saying more men are infected with cholera as compared to women.
He said 58 percent of people who contract cholera are males, while 42 percent of cholera patients are females.
More: Pindula News
doug · 1 year ago
A long time ago, before water borne diseases became prevalent in the city, it was ONLY the city council which allocated fully serviced stands with roads, water and sewer systems already in place. There was no need for one to dig a well, a borehole or a pit toilet, or a septic tank. Poles for electricity would also be in place. Even the plan of the house had to be approved, and council had to approve the different stages of building, until a certificate of occupation was issued when the building was complete. That was how the urban area standards were. Politics destroyed the orderly council allocation system due to the urban people voting patterns. People were brought in haphazardly and given pieces of land by politicians with the hope of diluting or surpassing the traditional voting pattern with the people who could be told who to vote for. After the voting, these people were abandoned with no infrastructure in place, hence the building of pit toilets and wells or boreholes together in a tiny stand. Powerful politicians have managed to get some of these settlements "regularised", but without having gone through the basics disease knows no regularisation. With some connecting to the water and sewer systems which were not designed to accommodate the invasion, the systems became overloaded, hence burst pipes in even those areas council had properly serviced and allocated, and disease can cover the entire city
🏃♀️ Chi baby Che Zanu 🌊 · 1 year ago
Thanks Doug. You just reasoned. Before the turn of the millenium there was nothing like allocation of unserviced stands. Zvakazouya nema CCC....
Kaguvi · 1 year ago
Chi baby che Zanu, your level of bootlicking is astronomical muzukuru wangu. Uku kwava kudhla shangu kwowoita uku