WATCH | Cholera outbreak: How it is spread and how to keep safe

A cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, has resulted in 12 deaths as of Monday morning as South Africa faces its first outbreak in 14 years.

Experts at the National Institute For Communicable Diseases (NICD) worry that a much bigger outbreak could be coming to townships where people don’t have access to proper plumbing.

Most people with cholera don’t get very sick, but for one in 10 the disease is serious and can cause watery diarrhoea, thirst and vomiting. The illness can sometimes lead to death.

How does cholera spread?

People get cholera when they consume food or water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae. The bug usually hitches a ride in faeces.

Earlier this year the cholera bug travelled to South Africa via people who became infected in Malawi and then spread further.

People infected with cholera shed the bacteria when they defecate, and the faeces can then come into contact with food or water others consume.

This can happen in a few ways:

• If contaminated sewage ends up in rivers where people drink or bathe they can get sick.
• Once in the river, the bacteria can also attach itself to fish and other aquatic animals and infect the people who eat them.
• If someone with cholera hasn’t washed their hands after relieving themselves, they can pass on the bacteria when preparing food for others.
• Vegetables can be contaminated if sewage containing the bacteria runs through soil where they grow.

How can you protect yourself?

• Wash your hands regularly with soap.
• Avoid drinking or cooking with water from rivers or dams unless it has been boiled first. 

This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Subscribe to their newsletter here.