Cholera in Zimbabwe Over the past months an epidemic of cholera has developed in Zimbabwe. The WHO reported in the beginning of December of nearly 12,000 cases and 484 deaths, but the Independent newspaper suggested that the number of cases were much higher and estimated that at least 3,000 people had died from cholera in Zimbabwe. The hardest hit district is Budiriro, a suburb of Harare and Beitbridge, a town on the border to South Africa. However, cholera has been reported from Mashonaland West province and Midlands’s province. Cholera has also been reported from neighbouring countries: Musina (South Africa), Palm Tree (Botswana) and Guro district (Mozambique). 

Sources:   W.H.O.  and The Independent 

Comment 
The Independent newspaper (cited above) suggests that the Zimbabwean authorities are trying to hide the scale of the cholera epidemic. It is clear that the reported numbers of cases and deaths are an underestimation as diagnosis may be difficult not least outside hospitals. Cholera is endemic in Africa and is a sign of a breakdown of sewage systems and the supply of safe water. In the present situation, visitors to Zimbabwe should be advised to be immunized against cholera. The Dukoral vaccine against cholera is safe and provides around 85% protection. 
Read more about cholera here.