DEVASTATING cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe where the death toll has reached almost 3 700 as well as over 5000 reported cases in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, have shaken Southern Africa, and although the Eastern Cape is currently cholera-free, it is vital to know what to do to avoid contamination.

According to the provincial health department there have been only two recent cases of the disease here and both have been successfully treated.

“Both were imported cases,” said provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. “Last December an Ethiopian national visiting East London contracted cholera when he passed through Zimbabwe on the way here, but he was treated in Frere Hospital.”

Two weeks ago a Zimbabwean woman travelling to relatives in Mthatha got sick on the bus. She was also successfully treated, at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital.

Kupelo said following a bad cholera outbreak in the province in 2002, the health department had put good systems into place to deal with the disease at the first sign of an epidemic.

He said R4-million had been set aside from April this year for possible disease outbreaks in the province including cholera, typhoid, Congo Fever and rabies.

The department had also embarked on a “pro-active” awareness campaign to prevent and recognise cholera which is characterised by severe diarrhoea.

Kupelo said people living in areas without toilets and running water were the most vulnerable to the disease.

Cholera is spread when faeces from infected people contaminates a water source or food. “People relieve themselves in the bush and in the summer season when there is rain, this is washed down to the rivers where entire villages collect drinking water.

Flies also sit on human faeces left lying around and then spread it to food.

“We urge people who don‘t have toilets to build their own while they are waiting (for the government) to build toilets because poor sanitation is a major contributor to cholera.”

Other avoidance measures include:

boiling water before drinking or using it to make ice;

ensuring food is cooked well and eating it while it is hot;

Always washing hands with soap after using the toilet;

If you use a rainwater tank to wash your hands after using the toilet, rather pour some water into a bowl and use that;

Do not let dogs and chickens eat from your dishes as they can also spread the disease.

Kupelo said it was important to seek treatment urgently if cholera was suspected.

“You have to get medical treatment in six hours or it will be fatal. You normally die of dehydration, so medical treatment will ensure you are rehydrated.” Antibiotics are also used to treat the disease.