Johannesburg – Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has reported that the outbreak of cholera in Hammanskraal and other parts of the country is on a downward trend.
Phaahla, speaking at a briefing held in Hatfield, Pretoria, today regarding the state of the outbreak in the country, said at this stage, the outbreak of the disease could be defined as being limited to very specific areas in the country.
He credited the “hopeful” turnaround in the past seven days as being due to the collaborative efforts of the provincial health departments, working together with the City of Tshwane municipality and other entities.
According to the minister, in Gauteng, specifically around February and March, the epicentre of the outbreak was mainly around the Johannesburg and Ekhuruleni areas.
This followed confirmed cases of two sisters who had travelled from Malawi for a funeral and returned to Johannesburg at the time.
He said while the situation was contained in those two municipalities around the time, Tshwane had rapidly become the epicentre, starting with a 56-year-old male, originally from Giyani, Limpopo, who hailed from the Musina area.
The police officer had enrolled for a three-week course at the Saps College in Hammanskraal. However, within a few days of his arrival at the college, he started complaining of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and vomiting and was subsequently taken to Muelmed Hospital on May 12.
His tests were confirmed on May 15 by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, and he remains in a stable condition in the ICU at the moment.
Phaahla said following the initial case of the 56-year-old, more police students started complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, with a total of 33 being seen at various health facilities with eight admissions.
"All admissions are in stable condition, with only one in the ICU. Health education and screening were carried out, and more specimens were obtained from more students at the college."
In Tshwane, health officials said there were a total of 99 confirmed cases from NICD. In the past 24 hours, only seven new cases were confirmed, three of those from Jubilee District Hospital, one at 1 Military Hospital, one at Eugene Marais Hospital, another patient at Netcare Montana, and one from Odi Community Hospital.
"Through various health interventions and messages, there has been a decline in the overall diarrhoea cases. Those confirmed in terms of serious illness, have also declined.
“In terms of severity, we've only had two deaths in the past seven days, with no reports of any new deaths as of May 23.
"I want to thank all the parties working together from the municipality and province, the World Health Organisation, the NICD, and at a community level with ward councillors. We are noticing a promising trend, and we're optimistic that sooner rather than later the situation will be contained."
The Star