3rd death in cholera outbreak

2008-11-20 17:30

Musina - A man from Zimbabwe has died of cholera in Musina, the third fatality since the outbreak of the illness in the Limpopo border town last weekend, the provincial health department said.

Spokesperson Phuti Seloba said the man died on arrival at a local clinic on Wednesday.

Two other people died over the weekend. One was a South African who had a business trading clothes in Zimbabwe.

Seloba said a total of 81 people had been seen in hospital since the outbreak. Currently 18 were still in hospital, including three new cases that were admitted on Wednesday.

Rehydration centres

Seloba said two new rehydration centres, to add to an existing one, would also be set up so that people would not have to travel long distances to get treatment.

One centre that would be placed at the SA border gate would be erected on Thursday afternoon.

The health department was still negotiating to put another one up between the Zimbabwe and South African border.

On Wednesday, a truck driver who arrived in Durban from Zimbabwe at the weekend was diagnosed with cholera.

Provincial health spokesperson Leon Mbangwa said the man had been placed in an isolation ward in Durban's Addington Hospital.

Earlier this week, French news agency Agence France Presse reported that there had been 73 cholera deaths in Zimbabwe in the latest outbreak, which was caused by the breakdown of sanitation in the country.

AFP reported that, according to Doctors Without Borders, up to 1.4 million people in Zimbabwe were at risk of contracting the water-borne disease.

Mpumalanga diarrhoea outbreak

Meanwhile, 130 new diarrhoea cases were reported after an outbreak of the illness in Carolina, Mpumalanga, the provincial health department said on Thursday.

Spokesman Mpho Gabashane said the cases were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people reported to be suffering from diarrhoea in the area to 782.

One person was still in hospital, dehydrated but in a stable condition, he said.

"We may see people coming in a week or so.... but this number should subside in the coming weeks."

Gabashane said the situation was improving due to interventions like public education and the chlorination of water. On Wednesday a new chlorinator was installed in the area.

Municipal manager Dumisa Mango said tests were still being done to determine the cause of the outbreak, but there had been an overflow of water in the area.

The water appeared to have been "dirty", he said.

"We are on top of the situation," said Mango of the outbreak.

- SAPA