By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD) has confirmed it is investigating a surge of Typhoid Fever cases in Tshwane.
Bronkhorstspruit and Hammanskraal are the two most affected areas, both in the Tshwane region.
Infections in Bronkhorstspruit average one new case weekly, while Hammanskraal saw a sudden rise, primarily affecting children under 15 years of age.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, preliminary results from recent drinking water samples have not yet identified the source of contamination in the reported cases.
He stated that the city is taking these reports seriously and will intensify investigations in collaboration with the Department of Health, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), and the NICD to determine the cause of the increase.
Mashigo noted that the metro conducts routine water quality testing across its network and, to date, no detection of Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium that causes typhoid, has been recorded.
The National Health Department says there’s no need to panic as the outbreak is under control. But the department has urged people to take extra care and to seek help immediately should they present with symptoms.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus leader Cilliers Brink has expressed concern over the situation, stating that the city’s response must be carefully managed to prevent a potential tragedy.
“As the City of Tshwane coalition government lurches from serious crisis to more serious crisis, the apparent outbreak of typhoid in the city must be carefully managed to avoid tragedy, “he said.
Brink called on the city to release the results of routine water tests conducted on the Rooiwal-Apies River–Leeuwkraal system.
These tests serve as an early warning mechanism for contamination,” he added.
Typhoid fever is a dangerous disease, caused by the Salmonella typhi bacterium. Today it’s grouped with paratyphoid fever – caused by the closely related Salmonella paratyphi bacterium – under the name enteric fever. Both bacteria are related to the Salmonella bacteria that are one cause of food poisoning.
The bacteria that cause typhoid fever enter the body in contaminated water and food. The water and food is in turn contaminated by the poo of infected people.
The disease is very contagious. It spreads quickly in places where people live in poverty – most often places with dirty water that don’t have proper toilets or sewage systems that work properly.
The symptoms of typhoid fever may include a high temperature, body pains such as headache and stomachache, tiredness, coughing, not wanting to eat, wanting to throw up, constipation and diarrhoea. Some people get a rash. If left untreated, the disease can lead to death.
(It’s worth mentioning that typhoid fever is different from typhus. Typhus is caused by different bacteria and is spread through the bites of infected fleas, mites and lice.)