GENEVA, Jan 27, 2009 (AFP) - The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe is approaching 3,000, with over 56,000 people infected by the disease, the latest statistics from the World Health Organization showed Tuesday.
The outbreak, which started in August, has killed 2,971 people and infected 56,123 others. The previous count released on Friday recorded 2,773 deaths and over 50,000 cases of infection.
Ay me!
I've been devouring my favorite author G.G.M.'s novel, "Love in the Time of Cholera," with ardent fervor, relishing in the idea of such a "romantic" virus. Yet I've been painfully ignorant of how people are still perishing from it (and I used to work for the Red Cross!). My oblivion makes me blush crimson.
"...the weak pulse, the hoarse breathing, and the pale perspiration of a dying man. [...] the symptoms of love were the same as those of cholera." But Death is in no way beautified. Cholera serves to show the deathly effects of love.
According to the UK's Telegraph, UN reports that the epidemic could top 60,000 cases in Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are increasingly concerned about the lack of funding received for the Zimbabwe Cholera Appeal. How can we help? Visit www.alertnet.org/thepeople/members/218536.htm
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