South Africa records two imported cholera cases
South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of
cholera, the health department said on Sunday, as it called for vigilance.
The cases were of sisters who
had in January travelled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last
year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on
record in the country.
"Both patients had
developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg," the health department
said in a statement.
"A close contact (household family member) of one of the
patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhoea and dehydration,
and is considered a possible case," it said, adding laboratory test
results were pending.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal
infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae and can be deadly if left
untreated. It is mainly spread by contaminated food and water.
Cholera is not endemic in South
Africa, the health department said. The last outbreak in the country was in
2008/2009 when about 12,000 cases were reported following an outbreak in
neighbouring Zimbabwe which led to a surge of imported cases and subsequent
local transmission.
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