Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Department of Water and Sanitation has announced that it will investigate the causes behind water problems in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria.
On Monday, the health department said 15 people who suffered from diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vomiting in Hammanskraal have died.
Deputy Health Minister Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo and Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visited Jubilee District Hospital in Hammanskraal on Monday.
They visited the area to assess the situation and kick-start government intervention plans to combat cholera outbreaks. Mahlobo said a team of experts had been established.
“That team will be in a position to do a follow-up with water problems in this area. While the investigation is continuing, there will be an immediate task of provision of water for the communities affected,” he said.
The minister said the Tshwane metro assured the delegation there were sufficient water trucks to distribute water to affected communities.
“We have also agreed that we will run some tests with a reputable institution. We will deal with issues of engagements with our communities.”
Mahlobo said the department had created a command centre to bring in different spheres and expertise.
“There will be multidisciplinary teams established at the technical level. We will have a stream dealing with issues of health. The issues of scanning and mobility so that this matter could be contained in one environment, which the Ministry of Health leads.
“A team [from the social development department will] give social relief to families who have lost their loved ones. Another team will be dealing with issues of water and sanitation,” Mahlobo said.
Dhlomo said there were 41 positive cases of Cholera countrywide.
“We had one case in Limpopo, six cases in Parys, Free State, and 34 cases where we are. There are 15 confirmed deaths. We hope for people to survive because of interventions,” he said.
He said the plan announced by Mahlobo was beneficial for the department.
“We will leave the challenge of water to the experts. I am delighted that we are not here alone, but we have this support of creating a base on how to intervene. An alert has been issued to all provinces to treat any diarrhoea as if it’s Cholera. Cholera is different. It is a rapid dehydration,” he said.
Cases in the Free State
Residents in Tumahole and other areas in Parys have spoken of the hardships they face trying to steer clear of contaminated water.
They told News24 they could often not afford to buy clean water.
They added that power cuts prevented them from boiling water to ensure it was safe to drink.
Tumahole resident Maria Matsoso, 54, said nurses had warned them not to drink tap water.
‘I have never been to the toilet as often as I did’
Matsoso lay on her bed wrapped in a blanket, complaining about feeling cold and a loss of appetite, when News24 visited her on Monday.
Matsoso is among many residents of Parys and Vredefort who have been affected by the diarrhoeal infection in the two neighbouring towns.
“I thought that it would stop. It didn’t. On 12 May, I ran to the toilet non-stop with a running stomach. I took it lightly and thought it would end. The following day it continued.
“On 16 May, I could not take it anymore. I was vomiting, had stomach cramps, and frequented the toilet more often. I was then rushed to the Parys Hospital. I have never been to the toilet as often as I did,” Matsoso said.
She spent four days at the hospital and was discharged on Sunday.
“There were three women in our ward complaining about the same problem. Nurses said we were infected by a virus that has taken over in Parys and Vredefort. They said they were conducting tests on the origin of our problem.
“They also claimed our illness could be linked to water consumption. Our water here is dirty. It stinks. Even after boiling it, the stench doesn’t go away. I am worried that my problem will repeat itself because of our water.
“We can’t afford to buy water from shops. We even struggle to boil water as we were advised because of load shedding,” said Matsoso.
Several kilometres away from Tumahole, Dimakatso Malefane walked out of a clinic in Vredefort carrying her sick daughter Dikeledi, 2, on her back.
The concerned mother complained that little Dikeledi had been affected by severe diarrhoea and vomiting.
“She fell ill on 13 May. Apart from frequenting the toilet, Dikeledi complained about stomach cramps. As days went by, she became better. Then it worsened on 21 May. I took her to our clinic, where nurses attended to her.
“I pray that she’ll be healed. I think this is caused by the water we consume. Our water stinks. We plead with our government to attend to our water crisis,” said Malefane.
Another mother, Mamokapu Letshoenyo, left the clinic also carrying her 2-year-old daughter, Hlompho.
Letshoenyo said her daughter fell ill on Saturday.
“She started vomiting. It later escalated to a running tummy. I thought she had eaten something wrong for her stomach until it worsened the following day. She became worse. I tried many concoctions, and it didn’t stop.
“She stopped vomiting this morning. However, she continues frequenting the toilet. Nurses have given her medication, hoping it would stop her stomach from running. I don’t know what causes this sickness,” said Letshoenyo.
Nurses have told both Letshoenyo and Malefane that should their daughters’ conditions worsen, they must rush them to the hospital.
Free State Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said about 76 people were seen at various clinics and hospitals in the area with diarrhoeal infections.
Six people were confirmed positive for cholera and successfully treated at Parys Hospital and Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad.
“[F]ollowing the identification of the first laboratory-confirmed case in the Free State on 17 May, the province, district, and local area outbreak response teams were activated and supported by the World Health Organisation and National Institute on Communicable Disease,” said Mvambi.
“These teams were already in the district since 8 May, after the Communicable Disease District Coordinator from Fezile Dabi District was notified of the rapid, sudden increase of diarrhoea cases in the Ngwathe local municipality area.
“In general, the teams working in Vredefort and Ngwathe are continuously monitoring the quality of water for all water sources supplying water to the community. Environmental risk assessment is also ongoing,” Mvambi added.
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