By OBAKENG MAJE
10 April 2025- The North West Department of Health said it is on high alert following confirmation of one cholera case in Rustenburg on 7 April 2025. This comes after the said patient was admitted at Life Peglerae Hospital in Rustenburg on 5 April 2025, and the medical tests were confirmed by National Institution of Communicable Disease (NICD) on 7 April 2024.
The North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari said cholera is a category 1 of notifiable medical conditions with 1 case declared as an outbreak. Lehari said cholera symptoms can range from mild to severe and include sudden, watery diarrhoea (sometimes described as rice-water stools), vomiting, and dehydration, which can lead to complications like shock and even death if left untreated.
“The patient presented himself with symptoms at the hospital following consumption of a fish allegedly caught in a river, while on vacation a week ago in Limpopo.
“The patient was isolated immediately after confirmation of results and contact tracing was conducted immediately and Northam Platinum mine where the patient is working was alerted of the case to commence tracing and screening,” he said.
He further said cholera symptoms are watery diarrhoea, which is a hallmark symptom, often described as “rice-water stools” due to its pale, milky appearance. Lehari added that this includes vomiting.
“Vomiting can occur especially in the early stages and can worsen dehydration. Other symptoms include leg cramps, muscle cramps, particularly in the legs, are common.
“The individual might feel restlessness or irritability. The Bojanala Outbreak Task Team has been to conduct environmental investigation in collaboration with Municipal Health Services,” said Lehari.
He said health education by Outbreak Response Team to for accelerated community health education and awareness, enhance surveillance and monitoring. Lehari said the causative bacterium is found in food and water sources that have been contaminated by the faeces of an infected person, hence, transmission of the disease is high in places with poor water supply and improper sanitary conditions.
“Water sources like ponds, rivers, streams, lakes and tap water are known to harbour the bacteria and can be transmitted to various persons through food and drinks gotten from these water sources, vegetables grown with infected human waste as fertilizer, as well as the consumption of raw or undercooked fish and other marine foods gotten from polluted water bodies.
“As the province experiences high levels of rainfall, we urge our communities to apply extra care when handling food and consuming water from various sources to protect themselves by ensuring that water source is safe for human consumption or to boil them if in doubt,” he said.
Lehari said cholera is an avoidable disease, if proper care is applied. He said his department and NICD are in high alert and monitoring the situation at the current moment.
The Guardian 