A child has died with another one in intensive care unit (ICU) after drinking contaminated water. It is suspected that the child died from E. coli infection due to contaminated water in Nelson Mandela Bay. Metropolitan officials have been scrambling on Tuesday trying to find solutions to the water crisis after the death of one child.
Doctors have questioned how long the municipality has known about the situation before coming clean. High numbers of people have been suffering from diarrhoea and gastro in the past few weeks, which leaves the question of how long the municipality had known about the contaminated water.
The head of the Eastern Cape’s Health Department, Rolene Wenger, said three children, among them a one year old baby, have been hospitalised for E.coli infection. Of the three children that were treated for E.coli infection, one is in ICU while another one had been discharged. There have been 96 reported cases at the department’s hospitals of children suffering from dehydration and diarrhoea.
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Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Eugené Johnson said there have been worrying reports coming in about contaminated water and there have been meetings trying to find solutions to this crisis. “Remedial measures are being discussed and will be put in place as we fight to resolve the crisis.”
Johnson warns that the water is not safe to drink and advises people to boil water and add a teaspoon of bleach in the water to ensure its safety. She further explained that the problem was caused by low dam levels which resulted in deterioration of the water quality.
Source: Daily Maverick, News24 and image from Daily Maverick
