Cholera Outbreak - Zimbabwe, September 2018–March 2019

During September 5-6, 2018, a total of 52 patients in Harare, Zimbabwe, were hospitalized with suspected cholera, an acute bacterial infection characterized by watery diarrhea. Rapid diagnostic testing was positive for Vibrio cholerae O1, and on September 6, Zimbabwe's Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) declared an outbreak of cholera. From September 4, 2018, (date of the first reported cases) through March 12, 2019, a total of 10,730 cases and 69 (0.64%) deaths were reported nationally from nine of Zimbabwe's 10 provinces. Most cases (94%) were reported from Harare Province, the country's largest province, with a population of approximately 2 million. MOHCC's National Coordination Unit, with support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), initiated community-wide water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, including distributions of household water treatment products and water quality monitoring, within 1 week of the outbreak declaration.