In a statement released yesterday, Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla said a 24-year-old man from Benoni in Gauteng had died shortly after being admitted to the Tambo Memorial Hospital.
He was the fifth case of cholera to be reported in the nation, and Phaahla noted that he had never traveled before.
“More investigation is being done while one of his acquaintances is still being treated in the hospital. Health officials will educate the grieving family and undertakers of proper burial procedures to stop the disease’s spread before the corpse of the dead is taken to KwaZulu-Natal for burial,” said Phaahla.
Two sisters who traveled to Malawi were the first two South African’s to contract cholera. The third case—the first secondary transmitted case—was noted in one of the sisters’ husbands. The fourth case included a 28-year-old Alexandra resident who similarly had no prior travel history. He was received at Edenvale Medical Center.
Almost 1000 people have died in Malawi in the past year due to a terrible outbreak that has gripped the nation.
“The outbreak response team conducted a case investigation and visited the patient’s residence and workplace the following day. Cholera mainly spreads through contaminated and polluted water. People can become infected directly through drinking contaminated water, or indirectly through eating contaminated food,” said Phaahla.
Symptoms of cholera may include:
- profuse watery diarrhoea, sometimes described as “rice-water stools”
- vomiting
- thirst
- leg cramps
- restlessness or irritability
Health care providers should look for signs of dehydration when examining a patient with profuse watery diarrhea. These include:
- rapid heart rate
- loss of skin elasticity
- dry mucous membranes
- low blood pressure
People with severe cholera can develop severe dehydration, which can lead to kidney failure. If left untreated, severe dehydration can lead to shock, coma, and death within hours. cdc.gov