The North West Health Department has confirmed a case of an outbreak of Typhoid fever around the Klerksdorp area. This is one of four cluster outbreaks identified by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The other three clusters are located in the City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands and Garden Route in the Western Cape.
Enteric Fever is labelled as a life-threatening bacteria which only infects humans.
“Our MEC Madoda Sambatha has made this pronouncement that the province has enteric fever cases. When we look back since November 2020, we are now standing at 19 cases. One case was reported at the Welmark Park Private Hospital and the 18 others were reported at Klerksdorp hospital. All these cases in Matlosana and we realise it is because of the infections that come out of the illegal mining,” says Tebogo Lekgethwane, Provincial Health Department Spokesperson.
The North West Health Department has cautioned communities, especially around the mining areas of the province, to practice proper hygiene to ensure that they do not fall ill.
“People are encouraged to eat food after washing it first and avoid eating food that has been cooked with contaminated water. We encourage people that they should drink safe water, but most importantly the issue of illegal mining will have to be looked at and ensure that people are not exposed as a result of illegal mining,” says Lekgethwane.
