Limpopo health dept waits on cholera results

The Limpopo health department is still awaiting results on whether the Nwanedzi River is contaminated with cholera bacteria.

Spokesperson Phuti Seloba said on Thursday that the department was “fighting” for the results because it wanted them urgently.

On Thursday, 17 new cases of cholera were reported in the province, including two children under the age of five.

The total number of cases is now 472 and the death toll stands at eight.

There are currently 62 patients in hospital in Limpopo, including four children.

Earlier this week, Seloba confirmed that cholera bacteria had been found in the Limpopo River.

On Thursday he said the contamination was “not necessarily a serious issue”.

He said people did not draw water from that river, although some fishing was done there.

He said if people went to catch fish there they should bring a bottle of clean water. They should also not wash their hands there.

Seloba said it was not clear yet when the cholera testing results for the Nwanedzi River, which serves communities in Madombo and Masisi, would be available.

Earlier this week, AgriSA said the country’s farm products will not be affected by the Limpopo River testing positive for cholera.

Meanwhile, in East London on Thursday, a second person was taken to be tested for cholera.

On Wednesday, the provincial health department said that an Ethiopian who arrived in East London from Zimbabwe on Sunday was being treated for cholera.

On Thursday, departmental spokesperson Siyanda Manana said that a second man, also Ethiopian, whom the first man had been staying with in East London, was taken to be tested.

He said doctors were awaiting the results of samples taken from the man to determine if he had contracted cholera.

The first man was now in “very stable condition”, said Manana.

Also on Thursday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Zimbabwe was appealing for international aid after declaring its cholera epidemic a national emergency.

AFP said Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper reported that on Wednesday the government had declared the cholera outbreak and the malfunctioning of central hospitals as a national emergency.

The outbreak in Zimbabwe has so far claimed 565 lives, with 12 546 recorded cases, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported AFP.—Sapa