Diarrhoea outbreak hits four times as many people in two weeks

The provincial government said it is working tirelessly to deal with the diarrhoea outbreak in Ehlanzeni.

Spokesman for the Office of the Premier, Zibonele Mncwango, said more than 1 300 cases have been reported in health facilities, especially in the City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM), over the past two weeks.

He said government was seriously concerned, as transmission of the infection seemed to be moving from one area to the next.

He added that the source of the alarming outbreak has not yet been identified, but water tests are being conducted daily by Ehlanzeni District Municipality, the Department of Water and Sanitation as well as Sembcorp Silulumanzi.

The outbreak was detected around July 20 when the Department of Health discovered that there was an increase of people complaining about having diarrhoea.

On July 31 the health department claimed that two people had died as a result of it and that it was in the water.

This statement was quickly retracted on August 1 after urgent meetings between CMLM, Sembcorp Silulumanzi and the Department of Health.

A statement clarifying that numerous tests showed that the water in the reticulation network had been ruled out as the source was released by Neil Diamond, acting municipal manager.

Laboratory results of water samples obtained by stakeholders, namely the City of Mbombela, Department of Water and Sanitation, Mpumalanga Department of Health and Sembcorp Silulumanzi, and tested at different independent laboratories, have ruled out water from the water reticulation network as the source.

“Although the provincial government is not too sure where the germ seems to be coming from, citizens are meanwhile being encouraged to exercise caution by continuously washing their hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet, after changing babies’ nappies, and after throwing away rubbish.

“Further, citizens are encouraged to prepare food safely by constantly washing or peeling fruit and vegetables, cooking food thoroughly, especially meat, and storing food in a clean and cool place.

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“They must continue to exercise caution before drinking water by pouring a teaspoon of bleach into 25 litres of water, mixing it well and waiting at least 30 minutes or boiling the water for at least three minutes.

“The provincial government is further encouraging citizens to go to the nearest health facility immediately if they are experiencing diarrhoea symptoms, which manifest mainly in the form of passing loose stools, feeling nauseous and vomiting as well as having stomach cramps.”

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Sibusiso Sibiya, the grandson of Martha Mahlangu, told Lowvelder that she had died in Tekwane South last weekend after displaying symptoms, but Mncwango said the provincial government was satisfied that there are no new deaths related to the current outbreak.

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“The government therefore wishes to call for calm and encourage citizens to adhere to prevention while it speedily deals with the outbreak, as it has noted the opportunistic ill-informed rumour-mongers who are intending to cause excessive public panic.”