South Africa’s department of health has confirmed that one person has died of cholera while five cases have been recorded across the country.
South Africa’s health minister Dr Joe Phaahla gave insight into the death, noting that the deceased was a 24-year-old man from Benoni and that he was hospitalised at Tambo Memorial Hospital and gave up the ghost soon after.
The minister described the dead man as the fifth cholera case recorded in the country. The case is especially interesting because the said man had no travel history, which leaves open the question of how he contracted cholera.
One of the deceased’s contact is still in hospital at the time of writing. On the burial of the deceased, Phaahla noted that the body will be transported to KwaZulu-Natal and that health officials will brief the family and undertakers on how to go about the burial to prevent the spread of the cholera virus.
The first case of cholera was reportedly traced to two sisters who travelled to Malawi. Since the deceased Benoni man had no travel history, health officials are battling to know how he contracted the virus, as it would help them better contain it. The coming days might have answers to that.
