“The first two cases diagnosed in Gauteng were imported cases after travel to Malawi. The third case was import-related — a household contact of one of the imported cases.
“From the available information, the remaining cases do not seem to be related to international travel, but have been acquired locally,” Erasmus said.
She explained that outbreaks are declared when there are more cases of a disease in a community than would be expected. With certain serious diseases this can be a single case.
“A single case of cholera in a community that hasn’t reported cases before is regarded as an outbreak,” she said.
According to the NICD website, cholera is a bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water and causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration.
“Left untreated, cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours, even in previously healthy people. Most people exposed to the cholera bacterium (vibrio cholerae) don’t become ill and never know if they’ve been infected. Yet because they shed cholera bacteria in their stool for seven to 14 days, they can still infect others through contaminated water.
“Most symptomatic cases of cholera cause mild or moderate diarrhoea that’s often hard to distinguish from diarrhoea caused by other problems,” the website says.
No epidemiological evidence to suggest cholera spreads from one area to another: NICD
Image: 123RF/tashatuvango
There is no epidemiological evidence to suggest cholera outbreaks in the country had spread from one area to another, says the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
There is a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal outside Pretoria, where 19 people had been confirmed dead by Thursday morning.
There are also outbreaks in the Free State in Vredefort and Parys.
NICD pathologist Dr Linda Erasmus said though the outbreaks in Gauteng and the Free State seem to be simultaneous, “there is no current evidence to suggest that the Free State cases are linked to interprovincial travel”.
She added that though the source of cholera in both areas has not been identified, multi-sectorial outbreak teams are now investigating and action to prevent disease and reduce transmission is ongoing.
Early this year cholera cases were diagnosed in Ekurhuleni and the Johannesburg metro.
17 people have died of cholera outbreak: Gauteng health department
“The first two cases diagnosed in Gauteng were imported cases after travel to Malawi. The third case was import-related — a household contact of one of the imported cases.
“From the available information, the remaining cases do not seem to be related to international travel, but have been acquired locally,” Erasmus said.
She explained that outbreaks are declared when there are more cases of a disease in a community than would be expected. With certain serious diseases this can be a single case.
“A single case of cholera in a community that hasn’t reported cases before is regarded as an outbreak,” she said.
According to the NICD website, cholera is a bacterial disease usually spread through contaminated water and causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration.
“Left untreated, cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours, even in previously healthy people. Most people exposed to the cholera bacterium (vibrio cholerae) don’t become ill and never know if they’ve been infected. Yet because they shed cholera bacteria in their stool for seven to 14 days, they can still infect others through contaminated water.
“Most symptomatic cases of cholera cause mild or moderate diarrhoea that’s often hard to distinguish from diarrhoea caused by other problems,” the website says.
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