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Cholera alert after KZN floods
SABCnews.com
2008-06-27

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

This comes after two suspected cases of cholera were reported in a hall where victims of last week's floods are being sheltered. Cholera is an infectious stomach and small intestine condition and transmission to humans occurs through ingesting contaminated water or food. A team of environmental officers has been sent to Umzinto to assess the situation. Authorities say all people reporting with diarrhoea will be treated. Emergency water services have also been provided and a mobile clinic has been set up at the Umzinto camp. 

Last week's floods left thousands of people without shelter and most are being sheltered in community halls and temporary shelters. Millions of rands have been spent in the past five years to fight cholera in KwaZulu-Natal. Cholera broke out in the province in August 2000, leaving more than 100 000 people affected. More than a million people in KwaZulu-Natal are still without safe water.

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