BULAWAYO – Zimbabwe’s second city Bulawayo said Sunday it is now dealing with 10 cases of suspected cholera, as health officials warned they were not prepared for more than 100 cases of the infectious disease.

The 10 patients are under examination at the Thorngrove Infections Diseases Hospital where an isolation ward has been set up.

Medical staff are waiting for laboratory results to determine if indeed the cases would test positive for cholera.

Hospital bosses and local government officials convened an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss strategies of containing the epidemic, which has killed 30 people in the capital Harare.

Bulawayo Metropolitan Minister of State Judith Ncube; Bulawayo City Council’s Director of Health Services Dr Edwin Sibanda and Mpilo Hospital Clinical Director Dr Solwayo Ngwenya attended the meeting.

“We’re all concerned and we can’t sit back and do nothing, we have to act,” Ncube said at a media briefing following the emergency meeting.

Dr Sibanda noted that from the 10 admitted for cholera, five were suspected cases and five seemed probable.

“The ages of the patients range from 18 to 63 years. From the 10, five seem like probable cases whose signs, symptoms and history indicate it may be cholera. The other five cases are suspected, whose history list does not show contact of cholera,” he said.

“One patient, a 38-year-old woman spent two weeks in Glenview suburb in Harare and came for admission here. She has experienced not less than 13 stools and was admitted Thursday 13, September. Another 18-year-old gild was admitted with suspected typhoid as her history shows she was in Gweru.

“One patient was in Shamva, another in Budiriro suburb in Harare. Others have profuse diarrhea and of note is that others have not been out of Bulawayo.”

He said samples had been sent to the laboratory at Mpilo, where testing would take 48 hours to ascertain whether indeed it was cholera.

“Bulawayo last had recorded cases of cholera in 2008. Thorngrove is a screening place and there is a dedicated ambulance for cholera. Those admitted have had their detailed history taken, the suspected cases are stabilised, managed and given antibacterial and anti-diarrheal medication,” he said.

Dr Sibanda added that the city council had put thematic committees to control further outbreaks but a provincial approach was further required.

“We have the Health and Education Promotion to make sure enough information about cholera is disseminated. The committee will look at the figures received of diarrheal cases to see if they increased or decreased. Another committee is the Case Management, which is very important as it looks at how to manage cholera. The third one is the Sanitation and Disinfection committee looking at the possible, suspected, probable and confirmed cases, as to whether they are subjected to correct disinfection from home to the hospital. We have briefed the minister and now we have to expand into a taskforce,” he said.

Dr Sibanda added that the city had adequate stock of prescribed medication but the major challenge was fluids.

“We can manage 100 cases as we have 110 beds set aside should the cases shoot above that we will have challenges,” he added.

Dr Ngwenya said Mpilo’s laboratory services were constrained and had a shortage of manpower.

“We need about 30 lab scientists but at the moment we have nine in post. When testing for cholera, samples are fed to specialised bacteria to see if cholera will grow, then anti-biotic patches are applied, which kills it. This means for 24 hours the lab has to be manned and we don’t have that capacity,” he said.

The clinical director urged the minister of state to talk to the government so it could unfreeze the hiring of lab technicians who may be deployed immediately.

“If Thorngrove is overwhelmed, cholera cases may spill to other institutions. We may not have the capacity to handle large scale cases of cholera and this may lead to unnecessary deaths. This is why we are emphasising on prevention,” he said.

Dr Ngwenya said cholera was a serious diseases as patients suffered an outpouring of diarrheal stool, which looks like rice water.

The highest recorded number of stools in 24 hours was 40 litres released by one patient.

“People try remedial treatment at home but they must seek help immediately at the hospital because if they delay that will be catastrophic and they die,” he said.

The city of Bulawayo has urged residents to practice strict hygiene methods.

Zimbabwe suffered its biggest cholera outbreak in 2008 at the height of an economic crisis when more than 4,000 people died and another 40,000 were treated after being infected.

The latest cholera outbreak happened after burst sewers in Budiriro and Glenview suburbs contaminated water in boreholes and open wells, which are used by residents, according to officials.

Harare city council has struggled to supply water to some suburbs for more than a decade, forcing residents to rely on water from open wells and community boreholes.

Bulawayo, whose population growth is not as rapid as Harare’s, has fared better.