Zimbabwe has been hit by a measles outbreak, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) reporting Saturday that more than 340 cases have so far been recorded in seven districts.
WHO head in Zimbabwe, Custodia Mandlhate said most of the cases were among members of religious groups that refuse to vaccinate their children against the disease.
She said the WHO country team had embarked on a program to vaccinate all children under five years in the affected areas to slow down the spread of the disease.
Members of an apostolic sect refuse to participate in the regular vaccination programs undertaken by the Zimbabwe government and WHO, often preferring to use “anointed water” prescribed by their church leaders or prophets.
The measles outbreak comes on the heels of a resurgent cholera epidemic that has claimed at least five lives since October and infected more than 200 people.
This year’s cholera outbreak is however less potent that the one that struck the southern African country in 2008 which infected nearly 100,000 people and killed more than 4,200 others.
Source African Press Agency
