Water supplies to Harare cut off to control Cholera outbreak

According to reports on 1 December 2008, water supplies to Harare have been cut in an attempt to control the country's cholera outbreak. The water supply was apparently cut because of a shortage of purification chemicals, which are supposed to be imported from South Africa. Several Harare residents have begun digging wells in their yards to access water, while long lines have formed in parts of the city to buy water from vendors. Many of the city's businesses have been forced to close as a result. At least 425 people have died from cholera in recent months, while more than 11,000 people have been infected with the disease. The disease is treatable, but the country's hyperinflation -- which currently stands at 231 million percent -- has prevented the acquisition of sufficient medicines. Meanwhile, an anthrax outbreak has hit northern Zimbabwe, killing three people and threatening to wipe out the area's 60,000 heads of livestock. A local organization reported that widespread food shortages have forced people to eat meat from animals even when they know that the animal was infected with anthrax. Authorities have imposed a quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading. Anthrax is a highly infectious disease that typically only infects livestock but can be transmitted to humans by handling or ingesting infected animals.