The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) Societies, in conjunction with the Zimbabwean government, has embarked on a door-to-door cholera campaign disinfecting homes of patients or people at risk of contracting the disease, The Herald reported on Thursday.

This came at a time when plans to establish a Cholera Command Center to coordinate different activities on the cholera outbreak are at an advanced stage.

Red Cross teams will spray homes of infected persons, spray toilets, latrines, blankets and clothing with a chlorine-based disinfectant.

A statement from the organization said the exercise, involving health workers from Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospitals and Budiriro Polyclinic, has been going on since mid-December.

Affected households, the statement said, were identified at health clinics by investigating the history of cholera patients. During the home visits, the ICRC would educate family members and other residents in the neighborhood on the epidemic.

"The teams are using this outreach to identify cases of cholera and transport patients to treatment centers," the statement read.

The teams are also taking advantage of the door-to-door campaign to distribute water purification tablets, buckets and soap to promote sanitation in cholera-prone communities.

Speaking to the cholera response team within the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in Harare recently, Health Minister Dr. David Parirenyatwa said such campaigns were a major step towards creating awareness on the epidemic.

He said the campaign was centered in Harare, but there was need to extend it to other areas where cholera cases have been recorded. Parirenyatwa said the campaign could cascade to communities through the assistance of chiefs and village health workers.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2008)