The World Health Organisation said Friday that Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic is not under control and the death toll has risen to 792.

"I don't think that the cholera outbreak is under control as of now," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said one day after Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe denied there was an epidemic crisis.

The spokeswoman said the number of reported deaths had risen to 792 from 783 on Thursday with 16,700 cases reported.

"We hope to be able to analyse in the coming days and weeks the trends of this cholera outbreak," said the spokeswoman. "It will be interesting to know if we are seeing any decrease in cases."

Mugabe's spokesman said Friday that the president had been speaking in "sarcasm" when he claimed a day earlier that "there is no cholera" in the country. The spokesman accused western media of distorting the comments.

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