Cholera death toll rises above 30 as Free State confirms second death
The department has urged Mpumalanga residents to wash their hands and boil water before they drink it
09 June 2023 - 14:21
byKhanyisile Ngcobo
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
A 3D rendering of a colony of vibrio cholera seen by electron microscope. Picture: 123RF
The death toll from the latest cholera outbreak has risen to 32 as the Free State health department confirmed the death of a second person on Thursday.
Gauteng has recorded 29 deaths so far‚ while Mpumalanga has reported one. According to the department‚ the woman lived in Parys.
“This is a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad. The patient is confirmed to have died and laboratory tests confirmed the death is attributable to cholera‚” it said.
“The department urges the public to believe information about causes of death that are confirmed by laboratory tests and not opinions that are not scientifically supported by facts.”
Health MEC Mathabo Leeto sent condolences to the woman's family as officials visited them. The department also urged residents to wash their hands and boil water before they drank it.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers initially “confirmed” the death of three more people in the Free State.
Responding to the claim‚ the department said: “Cholera tests are certified by laboratory tests‚ not by opinion. Our records show we have two cases of cholera in the province and that verdict stands and can only be changed by proof of laboratory results that state the contrary.”
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection characterised‚ in its severe form‚ by extreme watery diarrhoea and potentially fatal dehydration. Most cholera infections are asymptomatic or mild‚ indistinguishable from other mild diarrhoea and affects all age groups. Nausea and vomiting may occur.
It is caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae‚ which can survive in fresh and salt water.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Cholera death toll rises above 30 as Free State confirms second death
The department has urged Mpumalanga residents to wash their hands and boil water before they drink it
The death toll from the latest cholera outbreak has risen to 32 as the Free State health department confirmed the death of a second person on Thursday.
Gauteng has recorded 29 deaths so far‚ while Mpumalanga has reported one. According to the department‚ the woman lived in Parys.
“This is a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad. The patient is confirmed to have died and laboratory tests confirmed the death is attributable to cholera‚” it said.
“The department urges the public to believe information about causes of death that are confirmed by laboratory tests and not opinions that are not scientifically supported by facts.”
Health MEC Mathabo Leeto sent condolences to the woman's family as officials visited them. The department also urged residents to wash their hands and boil water before they drank it.
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers initially “confirmed” the death of three more people in the Free State.
Responding to the claim‚ the department said: “Cholera tests are certified by laboratory tests‚ not by opinion. Our records show we have two cases of cholera in the province and that verdict stands and can only be changed by proof of laboratory results that state the contrary.”
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection characterised‚ in its severe form‚ by extreme watery diarrhoea and potentially fatal dehydration. Most cholera infections are asymptomatic or mild‚ indistinguishable from other mild diarrhoea and affects all age groups. Nausea and vomiting may occur.
It is caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae‚ which can survive in fresh and salt water.
TimesLIVE
‘We are confident it will be contained,’ Joe Phaahla says of cholera outbreak
Two cases of cholera confirmed in North West by health department
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Is there cholera in my water?
Ramaphosa apologises for state’s failures amid cholera outbreak
WATCH: How to diagnose and treat cholera
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.