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A medical staff member holds a bottle of anti-typhoid vaccine to be given to children during the immunisation campaign at a school in Karachi, Pakistan November 20, 2019.
The Democratic alliance (DA) in Tshwane has expressed concern about the outbreak of Typhoid in the city after several people were hospitalized in Bronkhorspruit and Hammanskraal.
The National Institute for Communicable Disease has confirmed it is investigating a surge in cases in the capital city.
Typhoid is caused by Salmonella Typhi bacteria. It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
The National Health Department says there’s no need to panic as the outbreak is under control. But the department has urged people to take extra care and to seek help immediately should they present with symptoms. These include high fever, weakness, headache, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain.
Tshwane councillor Cilliers Brink says the Tshwane administration needs to act swiftly to stop the spread of the disease.
“The typhoid spike has to be carefully controlled. We call on the city to release the results of routine tests done on the Roewal-Apiz river, Leukral dam water system to ensure that the source of typhoid is not, in fact, the city’s water system and to take other measures to prevent the spread of typhoid,” says Brink.
Video: NICD probes surge in typhoid fever cases in Tshwane: Dr Kereen Lutchminarain
