Mpumalanga records first cholera death
A 73-year-old woman from Mpumalanga has died days after contracting cholera.
The province's Department of Health says the elderly woman was from Phaphamang Section in Phake, in Dr JS Moroka Municipality.
It says she presented with symptoms, apparently after eating tinned fish.
On Friday, the woman was admitted to Mmametlhake Hospital which is under an hour's drive from Hammanskraal, the epicentre of the current cholera outbreak.
The department says a cholera sample was taken and sent for laboratory testing.
READ: Probe into source of cholera outbreak ‘underway’
The interim results came back positive, with final results confirming she contracted the disease.
The woman died on Monday.
The death brings to 25 the number of people who have died of cholera.
The Mpumalanga Health Department says it has deployed an outbreak response team to Dr JS Moroka Municipality to investigate the possible sources of infection.
It says contact tracing and the rolling out of intensive community awareness campaigns are also underway.
