Zimbabwe water woes spark diarrhoea outbreak

HARARE, Aug 20 (Reuters) Zimbabwe's failing infrastructure, with burst sewer pipes and persistent water shortages, has triggered a diarrhoea outbreak in Harare, a senior city official said today.

A deep economic crisis in the southern African country -- once one of the continent's bright spots -- has wrecked social services, leaving the capital and most major towns battling with broken sewers as well as water and electricity cuts.

Harare's director of health services, Prosper Chonzi, told Reuters that some 900 diarrhoea cases were recorded every day in the capital's 60 clinics, where people received free treatment.

Chonzi said the outbreak coincided with the escalation of water woes in Harare. Tests confirmed that contaminated water was the main cause.

Last month, a diarrhoea outbreak killed 20 children who had drunk suspected contaminated water in Kadoma, 140 kilometres (87 miles) west of Harare. Several people from two Harare townships contracted cholera after drinking water from shallow wells.

Zimbabwe is saddled with the highest inflation in the world, underscoring a crisis that has ravaged a population also facing persistent food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

REUTERS SR RK2115