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[FILE] The National Department of Health is cautioning South Africans to exercise high levels of hygiene in order to stop the spread of cholera.
The Gauteng Department of Health will on Tuesday mark World Hand Hygiene Day in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, in an event that highlights the importance of proper handwashing.
The event forms part of efforts to promote disease prevention and public health awareness.
The annual campaign is led by the World Health Organisation.
Health officials say hygiene plays a key role in reducing the spread of infectious diseases, particularly in communities facing water and sanitation challenges.
Gauteng Health spokesperson Steve Mabona says, “The World Hand Hygiene Day is commemorated annually on the 5th of May under the auspices of a global campaign spearheaded by the World Health Organisation. Now in many communities, challenges such as limited access to safe water, inadequate sanitation facilities and overcrowding increase the risk of communicable diseases. Now this includes diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and any other respiratory infections.”
MEDIA ADVISORY || GAUTENG HEALTH TO OBSERVE WORLD HAND HYGIENE DAY pic.twitter.com/594mljQmV8
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) May 4, 2026
Meanwhile, the department says it has been alerted by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to a serious medical situation involving passengers on an international cruise ship travelling from southern Argentina to the Canary Islands via Cape Verde.
Several passengers reportedly fell ill with severe respiratory symptoms while the vessel passed South African waters.
Authorities, including the NICD and Gauteng Health Department, have initiated contact tracing to contain any potential spread.
The department says a 70-year-old male died after falling ill en route to St Helena Island. His 69-year-old spouse later collapsed at OR Tambo International Airport and died at a facility in Kempton Park.
Test results are still pending. A third patient, a British national, tested positive for hantavirus after being evacuated to a private hospital in Sandton. He remains in critical condition in isolation.
The ship was carrying about 150 international tourists.
Health officials say there is no cause for panic, confirming that only two affected passengers entered South Africa.
The World Health Organisation is coordinating a multi-country response to contain the spread of the disease.
MEDIA STATEMENT || HEALTH DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS THE DEATHS OF TOURISTS FROM SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTION pic.twitter.com/ILnobapwoK
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) May 4, 2026
