Barberton diarrhoea outbreak leaves one dead, cause still unclear

It is not clear what caused a diarrhoea outbreak that affected about 80 people in Barberton, Mpumalanga.

Barberton, in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, is considered one of the province’s tourist attraction towns as it has Makhonjwa Mountain, a World Heritage site.

18 people admitted to hospital

The department of health has confirmed 18 people were admitted to the hospital after suffering from diarrhoea, while approximately 73 diarrhoea cases were reported.

Mpumalanga department of health director for the Communicable Diseases Control Programme Mandla Zwane said investigations were under way to reveal what caused the problem.

“For now we are not sure what might be the cause, but we are working with all stakeholders to investigate the matter.”

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Zwane said they were waiting for clinical sample results and water samples which could reveal what exactly happened.

He advised residents to always boil water before drinking it and to wash food and hands properly.

One life claimed

According to the authorities, the outbreak had already claimed the life of a nine-year-old baby who was admitted to Barberton Hospital.

One of the affected people who spoke on condition of anonymity said the outbreak was serious and he had suffered for three days.

“It was on Wednesday and I had a runny stomach and on Thursday I discovered that many people were also suffering from diarrhoea.

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“I did not go to the hospital, but I suffered for three days having a runny stomach. It was so painful in a way that I thought I was dying.”

Some of the residents who spoke to The Citizen and preferred not to be named fearing victimisation suspected that illegal mining activities happening in the area might have been responsible for the outbreak.

Residents complain about contaminated water

It is not the first time the residents of Barberton have complained about contaminated water which, they say, places their lives in danger.

In 2021, more than 20 cows and five goats died after drinking contaminated water from the wells reportedly used by illegal miners to clean the minerals extracted from the old mines.

One of those interviewed at the time, Phineas Zulu, said it was suspected that the water from the illegal miners’ ponds was “flowing directly to the streams”.

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Water test results leaked at the time showed that the streams in the area were contaminated with cyanide, which is a dangerous poison formed when chemicals were spilled or dumped into the water.