Hammanskraal residents in the north of Pretoria have been warned not to drink tap water following the deaths of 12 people as a result of a cholera outbreak.
Laboratory tests have been conducted on stool samples of 19 people at the Jubilee District Hospital after they presented with symptoms of diarrhoea, stomach cramps and nausea.
Councillor Rina Marks, a member of the mayoral committee [MMC] for health in Tshwane, said the municipality is providing the residents with water tanks.
“The MMC for human settlements is on board as well to make sure that there is enough water sent to specific areas, especially the most affected ones,” said Marks.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has called on residents to boil water or treat it with bleach before consuming it.
Dr Juno Thomas, head of NICD’s Centre for Enteric Diseases, said boiling water and also using household bleach to treat water before using it for drinking or cooking is effective at eliminating cholera bacteria and all the other bacteria and viruses that cause diarrhoeal disease.
Residents have been urged to seek medical attention if they start feeling sick, and all the health facilities in the municipality are on high alert.
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