The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has kickstarted several interventions following the confirmed cholera case which was received by the NMBM municipal health services office last week.
This comes after the Metro received a notification of a case of cholera (Vibrio Cholerae 01), and later confirmation that the resident lives in Walmer Township, Gqeberha and was admitted in one of the local hospitals after falling sick. Upon the examination of the stool, the cholera bacteria were isolated. There were no further cases reported for the NMBM area.
Environmental Health Investigation:
Upon receipt of the disease notification the NMBM environmental health team investigated the case with the intention of identification of the source of the infection, identification of other possible contacts, and possible source of the infection, and to limit the spread of the disease. The affected person was the only one who got sick in the household. Further investigation revealed that there was a sewage line blockage in her yard which resulted in the build-up of sewage in the yard. The sewage line was subsequently fixed and currently there in no longer a build-up of sewage in the yard and no one has fallen sick in the household. The investigation is ongoing.
Contact tracing:
All the persons who reside with the affected individual were visited as part of contact tracing and none of them were found to be sick.
Cholera surveillance:
The NMBM is conducting a cholera surveillance program in wastewater for early detection of cholera cases in the community. This step is very important as early detection of cases will allow all health role players to get their responses ready. It is also possible to contain the spread of disease once the surveillance system detects the possible source of the infection.
Community health outreach:
The NMBM will be sending regular communication to members of the public about the cholera status quo in its area. The NMBM has also issued some useful tips for the community on cholera, how it spreads and how community members can protect themselves.
NMBM Media Liaison Officer, Mamela Ndamase said,
