The number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe has increased to 11,735, including 484 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

The death rate at this point is 4 percent of all cases, which is high, said Fadela Chaib, spokeswoman of the UN agency.

Chaib said the high death rate probably meant that sick people did not arrive to the medical centers quickly enough, or that even once they arrived there was a shortage of medicines.

WHO is working with around 10 partners in Zimbabwe, and it has presented an emergency plan to the authorities to control the cholera epidemic, she said.