'Only sporadic cases' — Gauteng health department says no typhoid fever outbreak in the province

The Gauteng department of health says there is no typhoid fever outbreak in the province. It urged residents, however, to observe hygiene measures to prevent possible infection.

Dr Chika Asomugha, senior medical adviser in the department, said the province usually has sporadic cases of typhoid fever throughout the year, though they don't amount to an outbreak.

He said people who are at an increased risk of infection are those who live in areas where there is no access to clean drinking water and sanitation. 

“You acquire typhoid disease when you consume contaminated foods, usually fruits and vegetables. To prevent typhoid, you must wash your hands with soap at all times, the same thing we have been doing with Covid-19. We should also wash our fruits and vegetables before we consume them,” he said. 

The City of Tshwane and the Western Cape earlier this week allayed fears about possible outbreaks, saying they have each had seven laboratory-confirmed cases so far. 

Tshwane MMC for health Rina Marx assured residents that tap water was safe to drink, and urged those who suspected contaminated tap water, to report it to authorities. 

“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a disease outbreak is the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy. So far, the sporadic cases in Tshwane do not meet the WHO definition to be classified as an outbreak,” said the MMC. 

Western Cape premier Alan Winde said there was a misrepresentation of the numbers of infections in the province, which included cases from previous years. 

He said the number of typhoid fever cases recorded by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) was:

• 31 in 2020
• 48 in 2021
• 7 in 2022

“Since 2020 to date, three clusters were identified in the province which has now been reported by the NICD. In these clusters;

14 cases were recorded in the Cape Town metro, with the first case reported in November 2020 and the most recent case in January 2022;

11 in the Cape Winelands, with the first case reported in July 2020 and the most recent case in May 2021;

And 12 in the Garden Route, with the first case reported in August 2020 and the most recent case in December 2021.