Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health says it is on standby to treat any patients who may be diagnosed with cholera.
This, after the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed four new cases of cholera in Gauteng, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 10.
KZN Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said there had been no reported cases in the province.
“Nevertheless, it is important to remind communities about what cholera is. Cholera is caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food. Hygiene also plays a huge role in cholera transmission,” said Maphisa.
He urged the public to take extra caution by doing the following:
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water
• Wash with clean water
• Avoid eating street food
• Do not eat raw or half-cooked meat
• Boil water/drink treated purified water
• Maintain good sanitation
The NICD said the cases had been classified as indigenous; no patients reported recent travel (international or local) and there was no evidence of a direct link to imported cases. Three of the new cases are in the City of Johannesburg and are adults who participated in a traditional healing ritual.
“One case is in Ekurhuleni: a 10-year-old child with no history of travel and no apparent links to other cases. All new cases are recovering,” said the NICD.
No confirmed cases had been reported in other provinces. The NICD added that the cases range in age from 10 to 50 years. In eight cases, Vibrio cholerae was isolated from stool or rectal swab specimens and further characterised as toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa; two cases were negative on culture and diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The first three cases in this outbreak were imported or import-related cases following travel to Malawi.
The NICD further said there was an ongoing risk for imported cases following travel from other African countries currently experiencing cholera outbreaks, (especially Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe), but the increasing number of locally-acquired indigenous cases was very concerning.
“It is critical that health-care workers and laboratorians consider and test for cholera in persons with acute watery diarrhoea, even in the absence of a travel history or a link to known cases.
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