(Health): South Africa's Cholera Death Toll Rises

 

In South Africa, a government investigation is yet to find the source of contaminated water in Hammanskraal in Gauteng, where 23 people have lost their lives and dozens have been hospitalised.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he'll soon visit the area, north of Pretoria. The country's department of health announced on Friday evening (May 26, 2023) that the number of fatalities had risen, while 75 patients were being treated with diarrhoeal diseases in the Jubilee District Hospital. Fifteen of the latter were confirmed cholera cases, which Ramaphosa said was worrisome.

The government has established a command centre to combat the outbreak in collaboration with the City of Tshwane and the departments of health, water and sanitation, social development and others.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said a billion people in 43 countries are at risk of cholera and though the outbreaks could be stopped, the resources necessary to do so are lacking.

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