South Africa: Cholera kills 13 in Mpumalanga

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Source: http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?s...5111786C481803

Cholera kills 13 in Mpumalanga

June 10 2008 at 01:56PM

Thirteen illegal miners, of which two have died, have contracted cholera in Mpumalanga in the past two weeks, provincial health authorities said on Tuesday.

The cholera outbreak started on May 29 among illegal miners at Sheba Mine near Barberton.

No new cases had been reported in the past 24 hours, said health spokesperson Mpho Gabashane.

"We currently have only four patients still admitted to hospital, others have since been discharged."

So far, all water samples in the area have tested negative for cholera and it is believed the miners contracted the disease while staying underground for as long as three weeks.

"They go underground for two to three weeks and drink unsafe water. They do not have adequate ablution and we suspect this is how they contracted cholera," said Gabashane. - Sapa

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Re: South Africa: Cholera kills 13 in Mpumalanga

Source: http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=219519

Jul 1 2008 10:06AM
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Cholera outbreak kills four in Barberton area
2008/07/01

FOUR people have died following a cholera outbreak in Barberton.

An Mpumalanga Health Department spokesperson said yesterday: ?We discovered the outbreak of cholera on May 29; since then the confirmed number of cholera patients who received medical treatment has risen to 27? The number of deaths is at four.?

Spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said currently there were 10 patients at Barberton Hospital and one had been confirmed with cholera. ?We are awaiting test results for the other nine.?

Gabashane said the department had instructed its teams to heighten their surveillance and health promotion. ?We are also on a daily basis testing all sources of water in the area and, up to this point, all tap water is considered safe for human consumption.?

The department had not identified any bacteria or organism that caused cholera in local streams. ?We urge all the people to use safe tap water and, in cases where they may not have access, to boil their water at least for three minutes or add a teaspoon of bleach.? He said the situation was ?under control? at the moment. ? Sapa