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Health body urges departments to control cholera

OHSC 'notes with sadness' the lives of patients lost at state facilities

Jeanette Chabalala Senior Reporter
The Office of Health Standards Compliance Board has urged the national and provincial health departments to put measures to contain the cholera outbreak.
The Office of Health Standards Compliance Board has urged the national and provincial health departments to put measures to contain the cholera outbreak.
Image: 123RF/ tashatuvango

The Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) has urged national and provincial health departments to put measures in place across all healthcare establishments to contain the cholera outbreak.

The office said it was “deeply concerned” about the current outbreak of cholera, particularly in the provinces of Gauteng, Free State, North West and Mpumalanga.

“The OHSC noted with great sadness that the disease claimed the lives of patients at some of the health establishments. We are urging the national and provincial health departments to put measures in place across all healthcare establishments in order to contain the outbreak and further spread of the disease,” OHSC spokesperson Ricardo Mahlakanya said.

Since the outbreak more than 20 people from Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, have lost their lives.

“Whilst the OHSC acknowledges the enormous strain put by the outbreak of cholera on the health system and its resources, it is expected that the provision of quality health remains of the highest standard,” Mahlakanya said.

Mahlakanya said they would continue to monitor the situation to ensure that the safety of users of health services was not compromised in health establishments.

“The entity wishes to send its deepest condolences to all families who have lost their loved ones due to the disease.”

Tshwane’s spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, told Sowetan they still did not know the source of the disease.

“CSIR [Council for Scientific and Industrial Research] also ran tests last week and their results didn’t show any presence of cholera either. We’re still awaiting the NICD [National Institute For Communicable Diseases] results,” he said.

Last week, health minister Joe Phaahla said the recent cholera incidents could be traced from the cases of two sisters from Diepsloot, Johannesburg, who had travelled together by bus to Malawi and returned on January 30.

The provincial authorities reported the cases on February 5.

Phaahla said in Tshwane the first reported case was a 56-year-old police officer originally from Giyani, Limpopo, who resides in Musina.

The officer was enrolled in a three-week course at the SAPS college in Hammanskraal, which started on May 8.

chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za

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