Durban — eThekwini Municipality has urged communities to take necessary precautions and practise correct hand hygiene, as cases of cholera continue to rise in other provinces.
South Africa reported its first cholera death in February after the virus arrived in the country from Malawi.
Recent reports show that more than 20 people have died of cholera.
The City’s head of communications, Lindiwe Khuzwayo, said they had noted the recent increase in the number of cholera cases in the country. She said according to the information they have, there were no reported cases of cholera in Durban.
“There are no laboratory-confirmed cases at this point,” she said.
Khuzwayo advised the public to follow the guidance given in health bulletins on media platforms and ensure that the water and food consumed were safe.
“Any person who experiences diarrhoea is advised to seek medical advice or medical attention and public health clinics are available to assist,” she said.
Health workers have been advised to treat all diarrhoea cases as suspected cholera until proven otherwise.
The head of the Centre for Enteric Diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Dr Juno Thomas, said cholera was defined as diarrhoea which was typically watery, non-bloody liquid stools that may contain mucus, passed three or more times within 24 hours.
She said 20% of those infected with cholera – caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae – may vomit, while fever is mostly absent. Vibrio cholerae develops into acute watery diarrhoea.
Thomas said the latest data showed that Gauteng and the Free State were the hardest hit, while a case of cholera had been detected in another province yet to be confirmed.
“Locally acquired cases are of great concern because it often means there are many infections that have not been identified. Clinicians should alert the lab before submitting a specimen from a suspected cholera case,” she advised.
Thomas said patient management must never wait for a laboratory diagnosis: “The laboratory diagnosis is for public health action and not to guide individual patient management.”
The NICD said it continued to monitor the rapidly evolving developments surrounding the cholera outbreak and urged anyone presenting with diarrhoeal disease symptoms to seek medical attention.
According to the NICD, symptoms are often mild and can begin as soon as a few hours or as long as five days after infection.
They typically include large volumes of explosive watery diarrhoea, sometimes called “rice water stools” because it can look like water that has been used to wash rice in, vomiting, leg cramps and dehydration that occurs rapidly and if untreated can be fatal.
“People who are at risk of being infected are those exposed to unsafe drinking water, contaminated rivers (bathing, swimming), poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene.
“You can get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with human faeces.,” advised NICD. It can be treated by immediate replacement of the fluid and salts lost through diarrhoea.
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