South Africa has recorded two confirmed cases of cholera from outside the country, the health ministry said on Sunday, and called for caution.
The two cases are of two sisters who traveled in January to Malawi, where an outbreak of cholera since last year has killed more than 1,000 people as of January, the highest number recorded in the country.
“The two patients showed symptoms upon their return to Johannesburg,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
She explained, “A contact (family member) of one of the two patients was transferred to the hospital on the fourth of February with diarrhea and dehydration, and it was considered a possible case of cholera,” adding that the results of laboratory tests have not yet been announced.
Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe diarrhea that can be fatal if left untreated.
The disease is mainly spread through contaminated food and water.
According to the Ministry of Health, cholera is not an endemic disease in South Africa, as the last outbreak of the disease was in 2008-2009, when about 12,000 cases were recorded after an outbreak in neighboring Zimbabwe, which led to an increase in cases coming from abroad and later local transmission.
