Streams, baptisms and swimming could be source of cholera - Brink
As the government continues with efforts to track the source of the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink said water from streams, baptisms and swimming could be behind the spread of the bacterial disease.
Brink briefed the media on Tuesday on the work that the city has been doing to manage the outbreak in the north of Tshwane.
The National Institute For Communicable Diseases reported a total of 114 laboratory-confirmed cases in Gauteng and the Free State.
At the same time, health authorities have confirmed that cholera has spread to a third province, with two cases confirmed in North West.
The disease has already claimed the lives of at least 23 people in Hammanskraal and one in the Free State.
Tshwane maintains the water which it provides through tankers is not the source of the outbreak.
On Monday last week, the city conducted sampling testing of water from multiple sources including reservoirs, fire hydrants, primary schools, clinics, and other locations that receive water from the Temba Water Treatment Plant and declared the water safe from cholera.
Brink says the outbreak has led to a breach of trust between the government and communities, which they are working hard to mend.
He urged residents not to buy water from unauthorised suppliers.
"The City of Tshwane and the licensed water contractors are not allowed to charge for water, we as the city are paying for that. Unless someone has a permit, they are not allowed to provide water, especially in these circumstances because we don't know where that water comes from.
“The risk is some operators might be supplying water to a building site, pulling water from the river and they moonlight in selling water to communities, we don't have any control of those private contractors," said Brink.
Meanwhile, the acting COO at the Tshwane Health Department Kwena Nkoko said the water testing involved various entities.
"We are collaborating with a number of stakeholders which include the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Water and Sanitation so that we make sure that all the results we receive are credible.
“We have just given the green light to the Water Institute of Southern Africa to help us with the assessments and give us some recommendations.”
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