Thailand to send medical team to Zimbabwe

The South African country, Zimbabwe, has been hit with a large scale outbreak of cholera and Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is ready to send a medical team to the country.

Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr. Prat Boonyavongvirot said the ministry was preparing a medical team after the ministry had coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Zimbabwe via the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to data from WHO a cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has so far produced 775 fatalities, with 16,141 suspected cases reported across the African nation.

The Thai physicians and other medical professionals are on stand-by, including epidemiologists and a disease control team, while medical equipment and medications have been prepared to support the team. All the ministry is waiting for is the permission.

Cholera spread rapidly in Zimbabwe because of the country’s crumbling health care system and the lack of clean water. Last week, Zimbabwe declared a health emergency because of cholera and the collapse of its health services. Dr. Prat said the outbreak has already spread to Zimbabwe’s neighbouring countries.