Johannesburg – The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has released a statement indicating the issue around the typhoid outbreak is fake news. The number and causes of the cases are being monitored amid the alarm caused by false social media news.
Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium that causes Typhoid fever is endemic in South Africa, in general the country only sees about 150 cases per year. Currently there are 159 cases with 64 cases in the Western Cape, 18 cases in North West, 45 cases in Gauteng, 12 cases in Mpumalanga, 9 cases in KwaZulu-Natal, 7 cases in the Eastern Cape, 4 cases in the Free State and 4 cases in Limpopo.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality released a statement indicating the quality of water has deteriorated since the tests were last done. The Municipality has urged all residents to boil their tap water as it is not fit for human consumption.
Professor Darelle Van Greunen, Professor in the School of ICT at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and Director of Centre for Community Technologies, said unfortunately “time will tell if the NICD are correct in what they are saying. One would believe that they would have done proper tests” but it also raises the question when last these tests were done and “are we 100% sure that all municipal water is safe to drink in this country?”
The safe bet is to now boil the water, or the better option is to drink bottled water as bottled water “is put through other processes of cleaning the water before it’s bottled. At this point in time, we have very little guarantee of what happens to the water that comes out of our tap,” said Greuen.
Greuen says the water quality in the Eastern Cape has changed, “Specifically in our environment here in the Eastern cape. There is a distinct difference just in the aroma, the smell of the water that comes out of the bottle and that comes out of the tap and the colour thereof.”
The only way to diagnose typhoid is by doing a blood sample. The test is an expensive one. These two factors alone make testing for typhoid an obstacle for those living in the rural areas. While a mild case of typhoid will require antibiotics, however, “if it is more severe you will be hospitalised. Let’s be under no illusion, typhoid can be fatal,” said Greuen. Typhoid is accompanied by high temperature, vomiting, muscle pain, diarrhea, severe headaches and much more.
The difference between typhoid and a tummy bug is the prevalence of a high fever when someone has typhoid. Once someone has shown these signs, it is important to do a few things to ensure it doesn’t spread.
“Isolate that person in the house. It is very important to ensure you do not touch anything that this person has come into contact with. Treat it like you would a contaminated area… Ensure that you wear gloves and ensure that you keep a distance from them. Keep their cutlery separate… In terms of the water, if a person contracts typhoid in your house, the big concern is water and also contaminated food…. If any vegetables were washed outside your house, then ensure you rewash it with boiled water.”
There is an imbalance of chemicals in the water. Once the cause of the imbalance is known, it should not take long to rectify the situation.
While the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has confirmed their water is not safe to drink, the City of Johannesburg has assured residents the water is safe to drink. MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department, Cllr. Michael Sun paid a visit to Johannesburg Water’s Cydna Laboratory in Houghton days before the social media post. While the water has been declared safe to drink from the source of supply, Rand Water, Joburg Water will engage with independent laboratories to conduct tests for the Typhoid bacteria.
The NICD has announced there is no evidence linking the outbreak of enteric fever cases to municipal water sources anywhere in the country. Municipalities have been told to test the water.
