The City of Bulawayo has recorded a cumulative 1 058 suspected cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) since November 2025, according to the latest full council report, raising fresh concern over the spread of the highly contagious illness among young children.
The report said no deaths had been recorded from the disease during the reporting period, but warned that HFMD remains a significant public health concern, particularly for children under the age of five.
“The foot, hand and mouth disease was contagious. It mainly affects children of pre-school (ECD) age. It was suspected that sharing of toys was one of the ways of transmission. Medical samples had been collected for laboratory analysis,” the report read.
Council officials also noted that while clinics were managing other common conditions, including ringworm, medicine stock levels had declined.
Authorities said the city had activated enhanced emergency response mechanisms to detect, contain and manage disease outbreaks as they evolve. Bulawayo remains on high alert for 13 adverse public health events, including Ebola, Marburg virus, mpox, cholera, typhoid, measles and Covid-19, among others.
The report highlighted fluctuations in other communicable diseases. Diarrhoea cases reached 269 in November, while influenza infections rose sharply from 22 cases in October to 54 in November 2025.
“Nine dysentery cases were reported during the month, up from five cases in October, while one malaria case was recorded, a decrease from five cases the previous month. There were two suspected measles cases during the reporting period,” the report stated.
Public health data also showed 45 dog bite cases were recorded in November, with no rabies-related deaths reported. However, the city registered three maternal deaths during the same period.
Officials said laboratory results for samples collected in relation to HFMD were still pending.
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