( CNN ) -- The worst cholera outbreak in Africa in 15 years has killed more than 4,000 Zimbabweans , and the crisis threatens to worsen when the rainy season hits , the U.N. Children 's Fund said Thursday . A cholera patient sits in his bed at a hospital in Harare . The rainy season could threaten more lives . The preventable disease has spread through the southern African country in the past 10 months because of faulty sewage systems , uncollected refuse and a lack of clean water , UNICEF said . `` Last year , we had a near collapse of basic social services , '' said Tsitsi Singizi , a spokeswoman for the organization . `` Municipal services were not providing clean water anymore and they were not collecting refuse anymore . There was also a collapse of the health-delivery system . So if you went to the clinic and you were affected by cholera , you would not be attended to . '' The possibility of a new wave of cholera cases looms , Singizi said . `` We might have another spike in the number of cases once we have our first rain , because cholera is waterborne and the contaminated water will be flowing towards open sources and people will be drinking from unprotected wells , '' she said . Nearly 100,000 people have been infected since the current epidemic broke out , according to a new Red Cross report . The cholera crisis comes as Zimbabwe is struggling with an economic meltdown . In May , Zimbabwe announced that it would receive a $ 22 million grant from the World Bank to help the country 's battered economy .
The AIDS epidemic has killed 4,000 people and could to worsen , the U.N. said . A new wave of violence looms as the rainy season approaches , UNICEF said . The crisis comes as Zimbabwe is struggling with an economic meltdown .