Delmas has seen 26 more cases of typhoid in the last 24 hours, Mpumalanga health department spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said on Tuesday evening.
”Ten people have been discharged while 65 are still hospitalised.”
Health promotion activities continued in Delmas on Tuesday as authorities waited for the results of tests that might determine the source of the disease that has claimed four lives and made over 500 ill.
Since it was first presented to health workers on August 22, a number of departments have been involved in isolating the source of the disease and preventing its further spread.
Carin Bosman, senior manager for resource protection and waste with the national Department of Water and Forestry, said these tests included tests on various samples of water, as well as tests on milk and meat products.
”We need to bring the epidemic under control and are pulling out all the stops,” said Bosman.
She explained it was difficult to determine the pathways of the faecal oral disease, with water being only one possible route of infection.
”It could have been someone who stopped on the side of the road with a bakkie full of lettuce, or someone preparing food for a funeral,” she explained.
So far tests on drinking water had tested negative for salmonella typhi — the organism that causes the illness.
”But we have to be absolutely sure,” said Bosman.
”We have erred on the safe side by telling people not to drink the tap water.”
Meanwhile, she stressed the importance of following proper hygiene practices.
”Wash hands with clean water after using the toilet, wash fruit and vegetables — peel it, boil it, or forget it,” she said.
Health department spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said the health workers’ message was being heard as the number of cases was dropping.
Typhoid is recognised by the sudden onset of sustained fever, severe headache, nausea and severe loss of appetite. It is sometimes accompanied by a hoarse cough and constipation or diarrhoea.- Sapa