Cholera outbreak kills 12 in Hammanskraal
The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria has risen to 12.
The Gauteng Department of Health said that around 100 people presented symptoms of cholera in the area in the past week.
So far, 12 people, including a three-year-old child, died from the bacterial disease.
The department said that 37 people were admitted to the Jubilee Hospital, the only medical centre in the province that recorded positive cases.
Laboratory tests were conducted on stool samples of 19 people who went to the Jubilee District Hospital, after showing symptoms of diarrhoea, stomach cramps and nausea.
The City of Tshwane is providing water tanks for residents. Councillor Rina Marks, a member of the mayoral committee said “Yes, we’re providing them with water tanks so we’ve got the mmc for utilities and the mmc for human settlement on board as well, so they will make sure that there is enough water sent to specific areas especially the ones that are most affected. Its 12 now, 12 people and its not 10 anymore but i know and it also breaks my heart to hear this, i don’t want people to die but we still do not know what is the source of this.”
Dr Juno Thomas of the the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) has called on residents of Hammanskraal to boil water or treat it with bleach before consuming it.
“Boiling and also using household bleach to treat your water before you use it for drinking or cooking is effective at eliminating cholera bacteria and all the other bacteria and viruses that cause diarrhoeal disease. So that’s what members of the public are urged to do to either boil the water or treat it with household bleach.”
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