Zimbabwe rations water to poor after typhoid spell

(AP) -- Zimbabwean authorities say they are making sure poor townships get uninterrupted water supplies after a typhoid outbreak, leaving wealthy areas with reduced supplies.

Harare official Tendai Mahachi told reporters Tuesday well-to-do suburbs will get water about twice weekly. He said "the wealthy can afford to buy water" and cope with outages.

At least 900 cases of the bacterial disease have been treated this year in poor western suburbs of Harare, many having had no piped water for months and even years.

No deaths have been reported in the typhoid outbreak blamed on food contaminated by feces from broken sewers during water shortages.

A cholera outbreak in 2009 blamed on the collapse of water, sanitation and prevention services killed more than 4,000 people.

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