As of Sunday, reports indicate that 23 people have died so far in the recent cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, a direct result of the town’s neglected water sanitation infrastructure. A further 48 have been hospitalised, with six emergency field tents being set up to prop up the overburdened Jubilee Hospital, which has seen 215 patients since 19 May, as reported in the most recent Gauteng Department of Health bulletin.
The temporary field hospital has been set up to immediately attend to cases of dehydration, supplying oral rehydration solution (IRS) as well as intravenous fluids. More critical patients are taken to Tshwane hospitals.
The Gauteng Department of Health also notes that as of Friday, 27 of the 75 confirmed cholera cases had recovered and been discharged. The Gauteng Department of Education has said that it will intensify efforts to supply schools in Hammanskraal with clean drinking water.
South Africa’s most serious outbreak of cholera in recent history was from November 2008, when a massive cholera outbreak occurred in Zimbabwe and spread to South Africa. Within the first 5 months of the outbreak, more than 73 000 cases and 3500 deaths (case fatality rate of >4.7%) had been reported, and it spread to South Africa through Musina. Between 15 November 2008 and 30 April 2009, a total of 12 706 cases of cholera were reported by the National Department of Health. Of the total number of cases, 1114 (9.0%) were laboratory-confirmed cases, and 65 deaths (case fatality rate of 0.5%) were recorded. In this outbreak, microbial analysis published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Vibrio cholerae 01 strains.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases has posted guidelines [PDF] for the management of suspected cholera chases.
