Issued by: Departments of Health, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Department of Local Government and Housing, Department of Agriculture and Land Administration and Delmas Local Municipality
14 September 2005
The Department of Health has treated a total of 408 people presenting symptoms of Typhoid in Delmas in Mpumalanga by Wednesday, 14 September 2005, 1pm.
Only 51 cases of Typhoid have been confirmed. The number of the people presenting symptoms of Typhoid has risen from 287 on Monday, to 309 on Tuesday, to 408 on Wednesday.
So far, Typhoid has claimed a total of two lives. A 33-year-old woman died at Witbank hospital on Tuesday. She died after developing complications from the fever and multi-organ failure.
The figure is expected to rise in the next weeks 3-6 weeks because of the incubation period. Those being treated may have been infected two-three weeks ago, and have just started showing symptoms.
The health workers are working round-the-clock seeing up to 400 cases of diarrhoea a day in different parts of Delmas.
The number of cases of diarrhoea have also risen from 1406 on Monday, to 1826 on Tuesday, to 2 338 by Wednesday, 14 September 2005.
The Departments of Health and Social Services, Water Affairs and Forestry, Local Government and Housing, Department of Agriculture and Land Administration and Delmas Local Municipality have put additional systems in place to intensify the response.
All health facilities in Delmas are now operating 24 hours. Eight more nurses and one doctor have been deployed to the area in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, 14 September 2005. Sixteen nurses are expected from Gauteng this afternoon.
Additional tents to accommodate 30 beds have also been erected at Delmas General Hospital to deal with the influx of patients. The fully equipped tents cater for outpatients who need to be rehydrated. To date, 18 patients were managed in the tent.
Since the outbreak of Typhoid, additional technicians, engineers, environmental management awareness team, vet services, water experts, members of the Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Management Unit from different districts are working around the clock to control the situation.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) conducted more chemical analysis from water sources (boreholes) on Tuesday, 13 September 2005. The tests have revealed no serious contamination. DWAF will continue with chlorine dozing in all municipal area.
Help from outside the province has also been received. An isolation ward has been opened at Witbank Hospital consisting of 70 beds. An additional ward with 30 beds has been established at Middleburg Hospital. Gauteng province has also offered 30 hospital beds at the Sizwe hospital.
24 Jojo tanks and numerous donations of bottled water by Rand Water have also been distributed to the area to manage the situation. The South African Defence Force has made available a water tanker from Saturday 10 September 2005. A free water tanker was also made available by Kumba mines.
The Departments would like to remind people to stop drinking pipe water and to drink only supplied water. Children should also be restrained from playing with pipe water or wading in the streams.
Contact:
Ministry of Health, Charity Bhengu 083 679 7424
Mpumalanga MEC for Health, Mpho Gabashane 082 802 4937
Municipal Manager, Tefo Meshack Kadi 083 456 4634,
Ministry of Water Affairs & Forestry, Fanyana Mtambo 083 628 7614