Harare — Four more people died of cholera in Shamva last week, bringing the number of fatalities recorded countrywide to 15 in the past month.

Secretary for Health and Child Welfare Dr Edward Mabhiza said the outbreak is suspected to have emanated from Mozambique since the deaths were recorded along the country's borders.

"We have already deployed a team in the area to monitor the situation since the first death on February 26," he said. However, Dr Mabhiza said some cholera cases seen so far in the country were a result of inadequate sanitation facilities. "We haven't done any analysis yet to establish whether cholera deaths are increasing. However, what we have established is that most of the cases are spreading due to inadequate sanitation facilities," Dr Mabhiza said. Last week a cholera outbreak in Harare affected 14 people while outbreaks in Muzarabani and Mudzi districts in early February took 11 lives. More than 800 people received treatment for the food and waterborne that claimed more than 10 lives in Mabvuku and Tafara suburbs in Harare last year.

The outbreak also hit Chitungwiza, Epworth and Hatcliffe. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare has attributed the increase in cholera and diarrhoea cases in urban areas to the sporadic water supply that has seen residents fetching water from open wells.

In rural areas, people also fetch water for household consumption from unprotected water sources, exposing themselves to cholera.