Officials in the City of Tshwane say they have stepped up investigations into a rise in typhoid fever cases in Hammanskraal and Bronkhorstspruit amid growing public concern about water safety in the metro, reports TimesLIVE.
“Preliminary results of drinking water samples tested have not determined an epidemiological link between cases, nor have they yet determined the source of the contamination,” said the city’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo.
Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi, which spreads through contaminated food or water and thrives in poor sanitation conditions.
Mashigo said the city was working closely with the Department of Health, Department of Water & Sanitation and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), to trace the source of the outbreak.
Several cases of typhoid have been reported at Jubilee Hospital in Hammanskraal and Bronkhorstspruit Hospital, where 13 patients were treated.
Most patients were under 15, with the youngest being just eight-months-old.
Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the situation was “under control,” and that while an increase in laboratory-confirmed cases had been noted in the two areas, no Salmonella Typhi had been detected in the city’s treated drinking water to date.
Meanwhile, DA spokesperson Kuhle Ngcamane said the outbreak must be “carefully managed to avoid tragedy”, and that the party was alarmed by the surge of cases in Hammanskraal, “where the community has not had potable water for many years”.
Ngcamane accused the city of failing to communicate with residents and called for urgent action to ensure safe water delivery.
“In the past few months, the DA has consistently drawn attention to the stalling of the project to supply Hammanskraal residents with water from Magalies Water and to eliminate reliance on expensive and exploitative water tankers,” said Ngcamane.
The authorities were urged to release routine water quality test results from the Rooiwal, Apies River and Leeuwkraal water systems, with the DA saying they serve as an early warning mechanism.
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