Cholera outbreak: Mpumalanga records first fatality

The National Department of Health (NDoH) yesterday announced that the first case of cholera has been detected in Mpumalanga and that the patient has unfortunately passed away.

According to a brief statement, the deceased was a 73-year-old female from Phake Thabeng in Dr JS Moroka.

The department said the elderly woman was admitted to Mmametlhake Hospital last Friday after complaining of diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting after eating a meal during the day.

“She was a known patient on hypertension treatment. A cholera sample was taken and forwarded to the laboratory for investigation. The interim result showed cholera positive.”

The woman passed away at the hospital, which is close to Hammanskraal, on Tuesday.

This brings the death toll to 25 since the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria. Of the deaths, 23 are from Hammanskraal, one in the Free State and one in Mpumalanga.

“Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and exercise personal hygiene, while those experiencing cholera symptoms are urged to present themselves to the nearest health facility,” the health department said.

The Mpumalanga Health Department said the national department has since deployed an Outbreak Response Team in Dr JS Moroka to investigate possible sources of infection, contact tracing and conduct intensive community awareness campaigns.

Communities are advised to be on high alert for cholera, which is one of the diarrhoea diseases caused by the bacteria called vibrio cholerae.

Symptoms include sudden diarrhoea, which is painless, watery diarrhoea (rice stool), nausea and vomiting, and fever among children. Some individuals, however, do not feel ill.

The disease spreads through the ingestion or drinking of contaminated water with human faeces.

The illness, according to the department, may start from a few hours to five days of infection.

“Anyone who presents with diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting should immediately seek medical assistance at a local health facility.” – SAnews.gov.za

More cases reported

Pretoria Rekord yesterday reported that 99 cases have been reported in Tshwane, seven in the past 24 hours.

This after Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla on Wednesday declared Tshwane the epicentre of the outbreak in the country.

“The majority of cholera cases reported are identified in Kanana in Hammanskraal,” Phaahla said and added that he is confident that the outbreak can be contained.