Cholera in South Africa: a symptom of two decades of continued sewage pollution and neglect
SOUTH Africans have expressed outrage at the deaths of at least 15 residents of Hammanskraal, in the city of Tshwane. The deaths were caused by cholera – a diarrhoeal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria. The disease can be fatal if left untreated. The bacteria produce a toxin in the small intestine. This causes the secretion of enormous amounts of water, leading to diarrhoea and a rapid loss of fluids and salts (electrolytes). Author ANJA DU PLESSIS, Associate Professor and Research Specialist in Water Resource Management, University of South Africa The bacteria are shed in the stools of people who…
