As Zimbabwe battles a nationwide cholera outbreak that has so far killed around 300 people, anthrax has also hit the south of the country, claiming the lives of villagers and their livestock. Matabeleland North provincial medical director, Dr Gibson Mhlanga, confirmed the deaths of two people from anthrax, but a report in the The Chronicle newspaper said six had died and over 200 cattle had been wiped out in the province’s Dongamuzi area near Lupane, 120km north of Bulawayo. T he government sent its disaster management’s Civil Protection Unit to Lupane last week to work with the Veterinary Services Department to vaccinate affected cattle in an attempt to contain the disease. – Irin News
Crops lost in Somali floods
At least 8 000ha of FARMLAND IN southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region have been destroyed after the Shabelle River burst its banks, displacing thousands of people, officials said. he flooding occurred around the town of Kurtunwarey, 140km south of Mogadishu. “In Afgoye Yarey alone, some 1 750 families (about 10 500 people), were affected. Not a single resident is there now,” one of the elders, Sidow Hassan Arkey, said on 19 November. “We were about to harvest [crops] when the river broke its banks.” H e said residents not only lost their crops but also their homes. “We are all in temporary shelters around our village.” – Irin News
