HARARE Feb 11 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has shut down the
capital’s main courthouse after a suspected outbreak of typhoid
affected magistrates and court officials, state media reported
on Saturday.
The complex in Harare has had no water for more than two
weeks due to a fault in the system that wasn’t properly fixed.
Court officials turned away witnesses and suspects and shut
down the complex on Friday, after at least five magistrates and
20 clerks were suspected of having contracted the disease, the
state-owned Herald newspaper reported.
Typhoid is caused by taking contaminated food or water and
results in a fever that can potentially lead to death if not
treated.
In December about 1,000 people were treated for typhoid in
Harare due to water shortages. At the height of Zimbabwe’s
economic crisis in 2008, nearly 4,000 people died from a cholera
outbreak, mostly in the capital.
Most of the major cities in Zimbabwe face water shortages
caused mainly by ageing infrastructure and lack of money to buy
water treatment chemicals.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)
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