A PERFECT STORM

The latest cholera outbreak has been caused by a deadly combination of factors that threaten SA's poorest

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

FIFTEEN years. That’s how long it’s been since South Africa experienced one of its worst cholera outbreaks. Sixty- five people lost their lives in five months and across the country people pleaded: please, never again.

Give us basic services to keep our children safe. Make water okay to drink. Fix the sewers.

Now parts of the country are in the grip of a cholera outbreak, with Hammanskraal in Gauteng at the epicentre of the disease. At the time of going to print, 23 people had lost their lives and 77 had been hospitalised – and this shouldn’t be happening, experts say.

“Let me say it bluntly: cholera is a disease of poverty and it thrives where there’s no infrastructure, no sanitation facilities and no clean water supply,” says Professor Maphoshane Nchabeleng, head of the department of microbiological pathology at the national health laboratory services, which is affiliated to Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. “We are supposed to provide clean water and sanitation so ideally we shouldn’t still be talking about cholera in this era.”

The fact that we are, she adds, is heartbreaking.

THE OUTBREAK 

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) first reported cases of cholera in February this year after it was detected in Gauteng. By 30 March the NICD had reported 10 confirmed cases, including one death – then the numbers continued to climb and climb.

“The first three cases in this outbreak were imported or import-related cases following travel to Malawi. All subsequent cases acquired infection locally,” the NICD said in a statement.