The national department of health says there could be more cases of cholera in South Africa as it awaits laboratory test results for two more people who have symptoms of the bacterial disease and are possible contacts of people already diagnosed with it.
Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said about 150 possible cholera contacts, mostly from Benoni on the East Rand, had been reached so far by Gauteng’s contact tracing teams after the country’s first cholera death last week.
Mohale said, the two, whose results are expected soon, were the only ones from the group of 150 people who had shown symptoms of cholera so far.
“We’ve referred the two to hospital for treatment so that more tests could be conducted to check if indeed it’s cholera. We are expecting laboratory results any day now.”
On Thursday, the first cholera death in South Africa was announced as the number of confirmed cases rose to five. A 24-year-old man from Emandleni informal settlement in Wattville, Benoni, died from the illness. He had no travel history. He presented with watery diarrhoea and was admitted to Tambo Memorial Hospital.
The first two confirmed cases were two sisters who had travelled to Johannesburg from Malawi and presented symptoms on arrival. The third confirmed case was the husband of one of the sisters who also showed symptoms days later.
The fourth case that was reported on Thursday, a 28-year-old man from Alexandra who was treated as an outpatient, also had no local or international travel history. He presented himself at the Edenvale Hospital emergency centre with a four-day history of diarrhoea, vomiting and body weakness.
The deceased, the fifth case, who lost his mother to an unrelated illness a few weeks ago, is originally from Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal.
Foster said though contact tracing teams were still investigating, there seemed to be a connection between the five cholera cases, suggesting there could be local transmission. The department has however ruled out possible contamination of water supplies.
“The Gauteng outbreak teams are monitoring immediate contacts including at workplaces. At this stage there is no indication of contamination of public water resources with the bacteria,” health minister Joe Phaahla told a social cluster media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
More cholera cases expected as two more symptomatic people await lab results
Image: 123RF/ tashatuvango
The national department of health says there could be more cases of cholera in South Africa as it awaits laboratory test results for two more people who have symptoms of the bacterial disease and are possible contacts of people already diagnosed with it.
Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said about 150 possible cholera contacts, mostly from Benoni on the East Rand, had been reached so far by Gauteng’s contact tracing teams after the country’s first cholera death last week.
Mohale said, the two, whose results are expected soon, were the only ones from the group of 150 people who had shown symptoms of cholera so far.
“We’ve referred the two to hospital for treatment so that more tests could be conducted to check if indeed it’s cholera. We are expecting laboratory results any day now.”
On Thursday, the first cholera death in South Africa was announced as the number of confirmed cases rose to five. A 24-year-old man from Emandleni informal settlement in Wattville, Benoni, died from the illness. He had no travel history. He presented with watery diarrhoea and was admitted to Tambo Memorial Hospital.
The first two confirmed cases were two sisters who had travelled to Johannesburg from Malawi and presented symptoms on arrival. The third confirmed case was the husband of one of the sisters who also showed symptoms days later.
The fourth case that was reported on Thursday, a 28-year-old man from Alexandra who was treated as an outpatient, also had no local or international travel history. He presented himself at the Edenvale Hospital emergency centre with a four-day history of diarrhoea, vomiting and body weakness.
The deceased, the fifth case, who lost his mother to an unrelated illness a few weeks ago, is originally from Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal.
Foster said though contact tracing teams were still investigating, there seemed to be a connection between the five cholera cases, suggesting there could be local transmission. The department has however ruled out possible contamination of water supplies.
“The Gauteng outbreak teams are monitoring immediate contacts including at workplaces. At this stage there is no indication of contamination of public water resources with the bacteria,” health minister Joe Phaahla told a social cluster media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.
First cholera death in South Africa confirmed as more cases detected
“What is important is for our environmental health officers and health promotion teams to monitor close contacts and keep them at high alert and also education for health hygiene, especially when handling drinking water and food,”
Meanwhile the department announced it is working with other departments and stakeholders on a nationwide child immunisation campaign against measles and papillomavirus (HPV) and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
A measles outbreak was reported in six of the nine provinces, including Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, the Free State, North West and recently the Western Cape which recorded four laboratory-confirmed cases in Cape Town. This takes the number of cases from 506 to 510 since the first outbreak in 2022.
Phaahla, who co-chaired the cluster briefing with basic education minister Angie Motshekga, said more than 4.7 million measles doses have been administered since the outbreak.
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