Health Dept confirms four new cholera cases
Health officials have confirmed four new cases of cholera in the country.
This brings the total number of positive cases to 10 - including one death.
The department's Foster Mohale says a man and his wife became ill after they were baptised in the Jukskei River in Gauteng recently.
A 50-year-old woman from Diepsloot, who baptised the couple, also tested positive.
"She also drank water from the same river during baptism. She was detected by the health response team during contact tracing."
Six other people experienced health complications.
"Case number nine is a 10-year-old girl child from Katlehong in Ekurhuleni District who presented with diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting at Mpilweni Private Hospital," says Mohale.
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"It was established during the investigation that her mother was admitted to Thelle Mogoerane Hospital for different health conditions, unfortunately, passed away the following day.
"It was also established that the girl and her mother were baptised with other church members at Kliprivier a week earlier."
Mohale says they suspect water from the Jukskei and Klip rivers to be the source of local cholera infections.
He says the people who picked up the disease recently, don't have a history of international travel.
"The Environmental Health Practitioners will collect water samples from the two rivers for analysis in order to establish if indeed the water in contaminated with cholera."
