As of February 28, 2023, a total of six confirmed cases of cholera and one death have been reported in Gauteng province, the National Institute for Infectious Diseases (NICD) announced on Wednesday.
All the cases were adults, aged from 19 to 44 years. No confirmed cases have been reported in other provinces.
In the investigation
While the first three cases were imported or import-related cases after travel to Malawi, cases 4 and 5 were locally infected. The patients have no travel history and are not related to imported cases or to each other, and do not live or work in the same area.
“By definition, the detection of locally acquired indigenous cholera cases is a confirmed cholera outbreak. The source of infection in these cases is currently unknown,” NICD said.
Also read: Third cholera case recorded in Gauteng
A sixth case has just been reported and is under investigation.
“While there is a continuing risk of imported cases following travel from other African countries currently experiencing cholera outbreaks (mainly Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), detection of locally acquired cases is important to guide public health investigations and timely interventions it’s time to effectively interrupt the transmission of cholera in affected communities,” he said.
Cholera in Gauteng: water is safe to drink
On Tuesday, the Gauteng health department denied social media claims of a Cholera outbreak in the province.
The post warns residents not to drink the tap water.
Also read: First cholera death confirmed in South Africa
“The information presented by this account is inaccurate. There is no scientific evidence or official communication that people should not drink tap water that remains safe for drinking. Continue to practice proper hand hygiene and do not drink water from contaminated sources,” said the department.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of people visiting the nearest health facility when experiencing symptoms of mild to severe and watery diarrhea and dehydration. Furthermore, proper hand hygiene practices include washing hands with soap and water before and after using the bathroom and also when handling food is quite critical.
READ ALSO: ‘Gauteng tap water safe to drink, Cholera reports dangerous’ – Gauteng Health