Zimbabwe gives illegal food vendors 48 hours to stop operations following typhoid outbreak

The Harare City Council in Zimbabwe has issued a 48-hour notice to all illegal food vendors to stop operations as they try to contain typhoid outbreak in the country. The move comes after the disease has been rapidly spreading since late December 2016, with more than 300 suspected cases and 22 confirmed cases of the water-borne disease recorded so far.
According to the authorities, the major factor for the outbreak is caused by poor water and sanitation, uncollected refuse and uncontrolled vending of foodstuffs.

Speaking to Herald Newspaper, the Health Services Director, Prosper Chonzi, said:

‘We need to be cruel if we are to contain the outbreak and the ban on vending is a welcome development. People should buy food in licensed premises which meet the required standards of the Public Health Act and other council by-laws.’

In 2008, Zimbabwe recorded its worst cholera outbreak in history with more than 4,000 people dying from the disease.