No Cholera detected in Hammanskraal water: Mayor

Tshwane mayor, Cilliers Brink, has revealed that test results indicate that no cholera was detected in the water supplied to the city.

Fifteen people, including two children, have since lost their lives in the crisis that is unfolding in the country’s capital.

Sixty other residents are reported to be in critical condition in hospitals around Tshwane.

The deadly disease, which results in profuse diarrhoea and dehydration, is usually caused by contaminated food and water.

Brink says testing samples on various water sources came back negative for E.coli and cholera.

He, however, says the results do not mean that the water running from the taps is safe for human consumption.

Nursing union, Denosa, says it hopes the City’s findings are not part of some elaborate cover-up.

[WATCH] Testing samples have come back negative for E. Coli and cholera following comprehensive testing on multiple sites around Temba and Hammanskraal areas. pic.twitter.com/Y4NEH1iM7N

— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) May 22, 2023

Call to remain on guard

Meanwhile, the National Health Department has confirmed the cholera outbreak, appealing to South Africans to remain on high alert.

The department says the primary mode of cholera transmission is due to climate change and limited access to clean water.

The Gauteng province, Limpopo and the Free State are the only provinces with confirmed cases.

Department of Health official, Aneliswa Cele, says there is a rapid increase in the number of local transmissions.

“Clinicians are urged to maintain a high index of suspicion for cholera in patients who present with acute watery diarrhoea and this is where our concern has been. It’s very important that this information gets to us.”

She has also urged clinicians to remain vigilant when receiving patients given that the country is in a state of an outbreak.

Government has also stepped up its scope of experts to investigate the source of the waterborne disease.