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An outbreak of enteric fever (typhoid fever) in the Western Cape has cast a cloud over the rest of the country.
Various people jumped onto social platforms claiming that typhoid could be found throughout numerous KZN towns’ water sources and not just the Cape.
Enteric fever is a potentially life-threatening infection. It includes typhoid fever (caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi) and paratyphoid fever (caused by Salmonella Paratyphi A, B and C). Humans are the only reservoirs for these bacteria, and they only infect humans.
The infection is spread through the faecal-oral route (through ingesting food or water that has been contaminated with faeces of an infected person).
With Newcastle Municipality not being immune to the misinformation circulating, the government entity’s Communications Department says that they were made aware of social media rumours claiming that Newcastle’s water is unsafe to drink.
However, the Newcastle Municipality said it wanted to reassure residents that their tap water is completely safe to drink.
“We would like to categorically state that the rumours are not factual, and are an act of mischief. The choreographed rumours are entirely aimed at causing unnecessary panic,” the Communications Unit affirmed.
Furthermore, the Municipality advises residents to disregard circulating voice votes and social media messages. “The perpetrators and instigators of this falsehood are also urged to desist from further fuelling this unfounded rumour.”
Adding to this, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) points out there are numerous social media posts with false information about enteric fever in South Africa, all of which are attracting widespread attention and causing needless concern and panic.
“These posts allege either that there are currently cases of enteric fever in certain towns or provinces caused by contaminated municipal water, or that the bacteria causing enteric fever have been identified in certain municipal water sources,” the institute explains.
According to the NICD, these statements are factually incorrect.
It states, “There is no evidence that recent cases of enteric fever are linked to contaminated municipal water in any part of the country, and there is no evidence that the bacteria causing enteric fever have recently been identified in municipal water sources anywhere in the country. This includes those districts in Western Cape and North West provinces in which the clusters (small localised outbreaks) have been identified.”
While the NICD and Newcastle Municipality are urging residents to remain calm in the face of fake news, the Department of Water and Sanitation is encouraging municipalities to conduct necessary drinking water analyses in their respective areas in light of reports of typhoid cases.
The Department stated that it had received an influx of inquiries regarding drinking water quality due to increasing media reports of typhoid cases and gastro-related complaints in some parts of the country.
“Due to the widespread messages going around on various social media platforms, it is advised that this approach is taken whether gastro-related cases have been reported or not. We urge municipalities to communicate regularly with the communities that they serve to prevent misinformation being peddled on social media,” said Sputnik Ratau, the Department’s spokesperson.
Ratau pointed out that the NICD has also set out some guidelines to ensure community safety.
In case of doubt, the following preventative measures for the public include:
- Hand hygiene: Wash hands with soap and safe water before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet or changing a baby’s nappy.
- Food safety practice: Follow the World Health Organisation’s five keys to safer food: keep clean; separate raw and cooked food; cook food thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures, and use safe water and raw materials.
- Using safe water: If people are concerned about the quality of water they use for drinking and cooking, then it is recommended to treat the water first by boiling it (place water in a clean container and bring to a boil for 1 minute) or treating it with household bleach (add one teaspoon of household bleach (containing 5% chlorine) to 20 – 25 litres of water, mix well and leave it to stand for at least 30 minutes before use.
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Maybe I’d worry about getting typhoid from tap water if we actually had tap water to worry about!
That’s good..I’ve been telling everyone…that NN has of the Best water in RSA