9 cholera cases in Mpumalanga
2008-06-09 17:03
Johannesburg - Two people have died of cholera and nine more cases have been reported among illegal miners in Mpumalanga, health authorities said on Monday.
"We have had two admissions at Barberton Hospital in the last 24 hours and we are awaiting results of tests done to determine whether they are cholera cases," provincial health spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said on Monday morning.
If these tests confirmed cholera, then the number of sick people would increase to 11.
The first case was recorded at Sheba mine near Baberton on May 29.
Gabashane said all water sources and sewerage plants in the area tested negative for cholera.
"The cause is therefore linked to underground processed water and unhygienic conditions that these people are exposed to," he said, adding that illegal miners were the only ones affected.
"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