There are fears a diarrhoea outbreak could spread in Durban after two children under the age of five died. There are currently at least 137 severe cases of diarrhoea in two of the city's biggest hospitals.
Yesterday, health officials reported to the city's community and emergency committee that there were at least 98 cases of diarrhoea in King Edward VIII Hospital, with two deaths, and 39 in Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Phoenix.
Officials are trying to identify the cause of the outbreak of the illness, which is often associated with poor hygiene. All the 137 cases were reported on Friday.
Head of communicable disease in the city, Dr Ayo Olowolagba, said his office received calls from the hospitals at the weekend about the dramatic rise in the number of children with diarrhoea.
"At this stage we have no idea what caused this," he said.
But about 80% of children treated had "indications" that the condition was associated with baby feeding formula, he said, adding that this could be related to the purity of the water used to mix the formula or to the cleanliness of the feeding bottles. Specimens had been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases Lab in Johannesburg. Diarrhoea cases had also been reported at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi.
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