Johannesburg - The cholera outbreak in Pretoria has claimed the lives of 12 people in the area of Hammanskraal, north of the City of Tshwane. This is according to the Gauteng Department of Health, which has confirmed the latest deaths.
According to the department, lab results of stool specimens from 19 people who presented at Jubilee District Hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and nausea confirmed that it was cholera.
It was previously reported that the department had since Monday, May 15, 2023, seen more than 95 people from Kanana, Suurman, Majaneng, Green Field, Carousel View, Lephengville, and Sekampaneng tested at the Jubilee District Hospital with similar symptoms.
‘’This comes after laboratory results of a stool specimen from 19 people who presented at Jubilee District Hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and nausea confirmed that it is cholera,’’ according to Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba.
From Monday until Sunday, authorities said 95 people from Kanana, Suurman, Majaneng, Green Field, Carousel View, Lephengville, and Sekampaneng had been seen at the Jubilee District Hospital with similar symptoms.
‘’Currently, there are 37 people admitted to the hospital with cholera symptoms, and unfortunately, 10 people have demised. The 10 people who died include a 3-year-old and nine adults,’’ Modiba said.
On Sunday, Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, visited the hospital with the City of Tshwane’s MMC for Health, Rina Marx, to get an update. The senior officials were also implementing interventions in terms of increasing response capacity at the Jubilee Hospital.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said the provincial department had provided two additional wards to accommodate patients who could not be immediately admitted on arrival at Jubilee Hospital.
‘’We have also mobilised additional resources, which include medical and nursing staff from surrounding hospitals and local clinics, to improve capacity for the growing need for medical care. Furthermore, additional linen has been delivered from the provincial laundry to activate the extra beds,’’ Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
The Star