Water-borne diseases

Health authorities in KwaZulu-Natal have put in place precautionary measures after a suspected cholera outbreak on the south coast.

A lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality for many people around the world and has serious health consequences, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan said Thursday. Speaking at the World Water Day event, she said globally scarcity of water had already affected four out of every 10 people.

Flocculant-disinfectant treatment with bleach is effective and acceptable. More than 1 billion people in developing countries lack access to safe water, and 2.2 million die annually of diarrhoea.

The bacterium that causes dysentery uses a 'sword and shield' approach to attacks cells while protecting itself from the inflammation it triggers. The findings were published by Nicholas West and colleagues in Science this week.

About 11 people have died in the Eastern Cape following an outbreak of typhoid in Mount Ayliff and Mqanduli, the provincial health department said on Tuesday. Health MEC Bevan Goqwana said the SA National Defence Force had been alerted although the disease was under control. Eastern Cape health services and the SANDF are also currently on alert following an outbreak of cholera in neighbouring KwaZulu-Natal. The disease’s symptoms are fever, headache and painless diarrhoea, which sometimes leads to death within two weeks if untreated. The disease is caused by dirt and contamination of drinking water with faeces especially during rainy seasons, but was not as serious as cholera, said Ngxata. He urged communities, especially those in rural areas where there were no taps or clean water, to boil water before use to avoid infection.