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The only three confirmed cholera patients in the North West Province are now out of hospital. The two patients from Swaziland, who were admitted at Wes Vaal mine hospital, were discharged on the 11th of January 2001. The third patient, a Zimbabwean citizen who resides in Winterveldt, has also been discharged from Kalafong Hospital. It is also worth noting that these three cholera cases did not originate in the province.

The North West Province has not experienced any additional cholera cases.

Our state of readiness:

When we first heard about the outbreak of cholera in KwaZulu-Natal, we immediately began preventative measures. We started education and awareness programmes through provincial newspapers and radio.

We also sent our team of health officers to KwaZulu-Natal to assist in the fight against the disease, and in the process learn from this experience.

All our hospitals and district health offices are on a high state of alert and are ready to deal with a possible cholera outbreak in the province.

We are also in the process of strengthening our outbreak response teams as part of our strategy to deal effectively with any diseases outbreaks.

We have deployed environmental health officers across the province and they are ready to deal with any possible outbreak.

Health education officers are being deployed in schools and villages to help raise awareness.

Health workers are being briefed on how to identify cholera symptoms and how to assist the infected.

We are making sure that all health centres will be stocking the right medication.

In addition to these measures, the provincial government, in collaboration with the development sector, has been embarking on a massive sanitation project in many of our rural villages. Millions of rands have been spent on the erection of thousands of toilets.

We are in the process of testing all rivers, wells and streams in the province to help us identify all our risk areas so that we can begin to act decisively against any possible outbreak.

Contact: Cornelius Monama on 082 578 4063

Issued by: Office of the MEC for Health, North West, 26 January 2001