JOHANNESBURG (ANTARA) – South Africa reported two confirmed cases of cholera from overseas transmission, the Department of Health said on Sunday (5/2), as it called for an alert.
The cholera cases occurred in brothers and sisters who visited Malawi in January, which was hit by a cholera outbreak from last year to January this year, killing more than 1,000 people, the highest record in the country.
“Both patients developed symptoms (cholera) after returning to Johannesburg,” wrote a MOH statement.
“A close contact (family member) of one of the patients was admitted to hospital on February 4 with complaints of diarrhea and dehydration, and is considered a possible (cholera) case,” he said, while waiting for the results of laboratory tests.
Also read: Deaths from cholera soar in Malawi
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and can lead to death if left untreated. The main spread of this disease through contaminated food and drink.
Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, the country’s MOH said.
The last cholera outbreak in South Africa was in 2008/2009 when around 12,000 cases were reported following an outbreak in neighboring Zimbabwe, which then led to a spike in cases across borders and local transmission.
Sumber: Reuters
Also read: UNOCHA: Nearly 1 million Ethiopians are at high risk of exposure to cholera
Also read: UNICEF study says 40 percent of cholera cases in Haiti are experienced by children
