Durban - Al-Imdaad Foundation and Gift of the Givers provided much-needed water to the community of Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, following a cholera outbreak that has claimed 23 lives.
Minister of Health Joseph Phaahla said the Water Department, both in the City of Tshwane and the Department of Water and Sanitation(DWS), were continuing to examine water sources to determine any contamination and that they were confident that they would contain the outbreak.
Hassan Shazi, project co-ordinator and spokesperson of the Al-Imdaad Foundation, said that they were asked by Tshwane disaster management to assist in the distribution of water.
“We are working with disaster management and other NGOs in the distribution of water. We have delivered water to affected communities, old age homes and schools. One of the schools that we distributed to did not have water because they rely on borehole water and there is no power.
“They are currently writing exams. North West province is nearby Hammanskraal and there are reports of cases of cholera in the North West, and we will be distributing water there also.”
Irfaan Ahmed, head of Disaster for Al-Imdaad Foundation, said so far they had distributed10 000 5l water bottles and at least 60 000 litres of water through water tankers.
“We will continue to be on the ground for the next seven days distributing water in Pretoria, thereafter we will await feedback from Tshwane disaster management on the way forward.”
Gift of the Givers said that they partnered with a retail store to distribute water to Hammanskraal.
“We delivered thousands of bottled water to Hammanskraal residents amid the cholera outbreak. The team also distributed 380 bottles of 5l water to six schools in Hammanskraal,” said the organisation.
The health minister said that the current epicentre of the cholera outbreak was Tshwane Metro Municipality, Hammanskraal.
“The National Department of Health and Gauteng Health Outbreak Response teams were called to Jubilee Hospital on May 19, where on arrival they were informed of the big number of patients arriving with gastrointestinal symptoms since Monday, May 15.
“By Friday, May 19, the hospital reported that 52 patients had been seen with a mixture of diarrhoea and vomiting and already by then six patients had died. By then only a limited number of five specimens had been taken to the laboratory, which is impossible to determine the cause in the majority of the patients. In the seven days from May 17-23, 163 patients presented at Jubilee with diarrhoea and vomiting, giving an average of 23 patients per day,” he said.
Phaahla said that the number of deaths was 17 in seven days.
“In the subsequent seven days from May 24-30, the number reduced to 30 patients with an average of four patients per day and a total of two deaths. Interventions at health services provision included the creation of special cholera and gastroenteritis wards, the deployment of a specialist gastroenteritis physician to Jubilee, the fast-tracking of laboratory results and the setting up of a field hospital/clinic with the deployment of additional health personnel.”
The minister said Health Outreach teams had been deployed to educate residents about cholera and reinforce messages of prevention through basic hygiene.
“Our colleagues in the Water Department, both in the City of Tshwane and DWS, are continuing to examine the water sources to determine if there is any contamination."
Cholera cases have been confirmed in Ngwathe Municipality, in the Free State, Ngwathe Municipality, with no reported new cases since May 23.
Phaahla added that in the case of Pretoria, there were 99 confirmed cases, with seven in the past 24 hours.
“There is a significant downward trend and the outbreak remains in Pretoria, and we are confident that it will be contained.”