Health workers in Zimbabwe have welcomed a return to normalcy at facilities which had been dealing with cholera for nearly 18 months.
The southern African nation declared the end of a cholera outbreak earlier this month after going more than 30 days without recording any new cases.
Between November last year and June of this year, Kuwadzana, a high-density suburb in the capital Harare, was the epicenter of a cholera outbreak.
An average of 90 patients sought treatment at this clinic every day during that period.
"It was so challenging. At that time there were few nurses to cater for all those patients, but later on the Ministry of Health chipped in and we got more nurses from other facilities to come and help us," said Prisca Ndoro, a nurse working at the clinic.
Most of the people Ndoro treated required urgent rehydration and in some extreme cases referral to the main national treatment center. Two of her patients didn't make it.
"By the time that they reached here, it was too late," she said.
Ndoro said late detection is the biggest risk when it comes to the diarrheal disease.
She and other health workers welcome rapid test kits and hailed them for being a game changer in reducing uncertainty in patient care.
"Some of them they even come in a comatose condition. Some of them would not be able to drink or walk or speak. And with the use of rapid cholera test kits, it's so easy to diagnose the patients. So we could test before treating. So we can be so sure that this is cholera," said Ndoro.
At the peak of the outbreak, a dedicated treatment bay was set up to intercept cholera cases at the entrance of the clinic.
Though the outbreak is over, the Kuwadzana community remains vigilant.
"We are happy that there are no more cases. It's now back to normal, but we are still practicing the preventive measures. We are scared because of how badly the disease hit this area," said Sabinah Mtengiswa, a food vendor.
Zimbabwe recorded more than 700 deaths and about 34,000 cases during the outbreak, which stretched for almost a year and a half.
Zimbabwean health workers welcome return to normalcy as cholera outbreak ends
Armed police officers and soldiers, in coordination with multiple professional rescue forces, are conducting in-depth search and rescue operations for missing people in the core disaster zone in Mingkeng Village of east China's Jiangxi Province.
At around 07:00 on Tuesday, the rescue headquarters integrated 12 professional teams, including the armed police, public security, and the fire department, to launch a search-and-rescue operation for missing persons in the hardest-hit area of the Shixia group of Mingkeng Village.
As of 18:00 on Tuesday, the mudslide that occurred in the early hours of Saturday has killed 12 people, including one newly identified missing person found in subsequent searches. At present, one person remains unaccounted for, and rescue forces are intensifying their search and rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, the Ji'an Detachment of the Jiangxi Armed Police Force deployed officers and soldiers to extend rescue efforts to surrounding disaster-affected townships.
On Tuesday morning, rescuers split into multiple teams and rushed to several villages in Zuo'an Township and Tanghu Township of Suichuan County to urgently evacuate the trapped residents.
Trapped in mountainous areas, villagers faced destroyed access roads and mountain paths that became slippery and impassable after days of heavy rainfall; most stranded residents were elderly people with limited mobility. The armed police officers and soldiers conducted door-to-door checks and carried the trapped residents on their backs, successfully evacuating all of them to safe zones.
"All village roads are completely impassable. The local residents here are all left-behind elderly people and children, and it is extremely difficult to complete the evacuation relying solely on the strength of the town government officials. This time, we are deeply indebted to the armed police officers and soldiers for their assistance in evacuating all these elderly residents," said Wang Yuli, deputy mayor of Tanghu Township in Suichuan County.
"The mountain slopes are covered in thick mud, making the ground extremely slippery. In some sections, stretchers cannot pass through at all, so rescuers have to carry the stranded people on their backs. As long as the people are safe, it is worthwhile to endure all the hardship and exhaustion," said Jiang Jiang, a soldier of the Ji'an Detachment of the Jiangxi Armed Police Force.
Rescuers intensify search efforts in mudslide-hit village in east China's Jiangxi
