Zimbabwe bans large gatherings as threat of cholera outbreak grows

Schoolchildren walk past flowing sewage in a storm drain in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe. Six cholera deaths have been confirmed in the country since September. Photograph: Aaron Ufumeli/EPA

The Zimbabwean government has banned large gatherings in parts of the country and increased surveillance at ports of entry in an effort to contain a rise in cholera cases.

With 100 suspected deaths, most of them in September, and nearly 5,000 possible cases of the water-borne disease in more than 41 districts, including Harare, authorities fear a repeat of the 2008 epidemic where 4,000 people died.