Authorities announce measures to deal with cholera outbreak

JOHANNESBURG - Health authorities have announced a raft of measures to contain the outbreak of cholera.

The Health Department held a webinar to provide more details on the measures.

The webinar revealed that South Africa is also at risk of importing cholera cases.

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The death toll currently stands at 15 as investigations to identify the source of the outbreak continue.

Aneliswa Cele from the Department of Health said there is a high possibility of continued importation to South Africa.

"We have alerted our points of entry, our port health officials are on the alert, if ever they pick up any traveller with symptoms, they're able to alert us and outbreak response team are activated in that regard," Cele said.

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"So we are on high alert in this space. Then there is a rapid increase in the number of local transmissions and associated deaths.

"We've seen it in Gauteng happening, already the DG has given us the marching orders in terms of how do we manage the situation so that you're able to contain the situation so that you're able to contain it and it doesn’t spread beyond where it is currently," Cele said.

"So clinicians are urged to maintain a high index of suspicion for cholera in patients who present with acute watery diarrhea, and this is where our concern has been to say in terms of reporting, it's very important that this information gets to us and also clinicians as you receive the patients, it's very important that we become vigilant because we are in a state of the outbreak as we see it."