Cholera death toll rises to 43 in SA

Cholera

Cape Town – The Department of Health has confirmed that the number of deaths related to cholera has reached 43 since the outbreak began.

There have been 1 045 suspected cases of cholera reported across five provinces, with 197 cases being laboratory-confirmed.

The province of Gauteng has been the hardest hit, accounting for 89% of cases, followed by the Free State with 6% of cases.

The department said that a confirmed case is when laboratory tests confirm the presence of the cholera bacteria, while a suspected case is someone with acute watery diarrhea and vomiting.

“A suspected case of cholera is a person of any age with or dying from acute watery diarrhoea with or without vomiting.

“In areas where a cholera outbreak has been declared, any person presenting with or dying from acute watery diarrhoea meets the criteria of a suspected case,” the department said.

The case fatality rate is currently 3.5%.

Meanwhile, in terms of the age distribution of cholera cases, the age group of 41 to 50 years accounts for 23% (46/197) of cases, followed by 31 to 40 years at 17% (33/197) and 51 to 60 years at 12% (23/197).

“The Department of Health is pleased with the progress made with regards to concerted efforts of interventions put in place to curb the transmission of cholera disease and mortality rate, which have significantly declined in the past few weeks around the country,” said the department.

Efforts have been made to curb the transmission of cholera, and the department is urging the public to maintain strict personal hygiene, especially during food preparation at social gatherings and funerals. Many of the positive cases and deaths have been linked to attending funeral services in the affected communities.

Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Picture: Pixabay

For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com 

Compiled by Betha Madhomu

Article written by