Johannesburg - The Gauteng Health Department on Sunday confirmed that four cases of typhoid fever have been identified within the Johannesburg area – Hillbrow, Yeoville, Edenvale, and Palm Springs.
Two of these cases were identified at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital while the other two were confirmed at the Edenvale District Hospital, the department said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, one of them, a 27-year-old Malawian female patient, died at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital on Sunday, 17 January 2016.
“The deceased patient travelled to her home country three weeks ago for holidays and returned to South Africa through Mozambique January 12.”
She presented at the Hillbrow Community Health Centre (CHC) on January 14 complaining of fever, headache, and vomiting.
“She was tested for malaria and since the results were negative and she was not seriously ill-looking she was discharged and asked to come back if her symptoms persisted. Tests for typhoid fever were not conducted because this disease is not prevalent in the community,” the department said.
While at home she felt more sick and returned to the Hillbrow CHC on January 15 and was referred to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital.
She went to Charlotte Maxeke on January 16 complaining of a severe fever, headache, and joint pains. She died on January 17. Tests confirmed that she died of typhoid, the department said.
Subsequently, another patient, a 16-year-old girl was admitted on at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital on January 19, also complaining of fever, headache, and vomiting. She was immediately diagnosed with typhoid. She was being treated and was in a stable condition and improving.
“She has never travelled out of the country, or anywhere outside Gauteng,” the department said.
Two Zimbabwean girls, aged 11 and three, were admitted at the Edenvale District Hospital on January 13 and January 22 respectively. Both were complaining of fever, headache, body aches, and pain. Both were diagnosed with typhoid, were being treated, and were stable and improving.
“It is understood that both children just returned from Zimbabwe, their home country, on January 12 after brief visits there,” the department said.
Typhoid is a highly infectious disease and spread through the ingestion of contaminated food and water. It is common in communities where there is inadequate sanitation. Poor personal hygiene is also responsible for the rapid spread of the disease. It is particularly important to wash hands before preparing food.
Symtoms of typhoid include high fever, headache, joint pains, and abdominal discomfort, sometimes with vomiting.
“Health professionals are advised to test such patients for typhoid and, if not possible, they must be referred to Institutions that are capable of conducting such tests. We have activated our Outbreak Response Team ([ORT] to trace and manage these cases and to determine if there is a common source. We wish to assure the public that we are on the alert. People must always wash hands,” Gauteng health MEC Qedani Mahlangu said in the statement.
To determine the source of the disease, the ORT had, among other things, sent environmental health practitioners to the residences of the affected patients to check whether there were other people who might have similar symptoms, and taken samples from all sources of drinking water.
“The team has also checked on patients at all affected health facilities. They will continue to be on the alert, and have advised all health professionals in Gauteng to also be vigilant,” the department said.
The Democratic Alliance expressed concern that a person has died of typhoid.
“I am concerned by the four typhoid cases that have been reported by the Gauteng health department, including one patient who died of typhoid last week,” DA spokesman Jack Bloom said.
“Typhoid is a notifiable disease and is highly infectious. It is important that we establish the source of these typhoid cases and take steps to prevent the spread of this disease,” he said.
An additional concern was that this could be a multidrug-resistant typhoid strain called H58, which had emerged in Africa and Asia and did not respond effectively to front-line antibiotics.
Swift and effective measures were needed to contain a possible typhoid outbreak, Bloom said.
African News Agency