By Anel Powell
The City of Cape Town's health department says only one case of cholera, in Khayelitsha, has been confirmed and two adults are being monitored for suspected cholera, allaying fears that Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak may have spread to the city.
Virginia Azevedo of the city's health department said laboratory tests had confirmed that the strain of cholera identified in the Khayelitsha patient was different from the one responsible for the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe.
The World Health Organisation says Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic has claimed more than 1 500 lives since August and a further 29 000 suspected cases have been reported.
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| None of the three had travelled to Zimbabwe |
Azevedo said the cholera case in Khayelitsha, a woman in her mid-20s, was an isolated instance that should not be seen as a "flare-up". One patient had been admitted to the GF Jooste Hospital with cholera. Two adults, neighbours of the cholera patient, were being monitored.
None of the three had travelled to Zimbabwe, she said.
Executive director of city health Ivan Bromfield said health officials had visited the home to assess hygiene and contain the spread of the disease.
Azevedo said a 10-year-old child had gone to Karl Bremer with suspected cholera, but cholera was not confirmed.
She said diarrhoea was common at this time of the year, and isolated cases of cholera were not a cause for concern. The city was monitoring water and sewage sources in informal settlements and had not picked up any trace of cholera.
Keith Cloete of the provincial Health Department said they and the city were following up all cases of suspected cholera and taking precautions. Health services were on "high alert", he said.
Azevedo urged people to wash their hands with soap to minimise the risk.
anel.powell@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Times on January 02, 2009
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