Ageing, under-resourced and failing sanitation systems are having a devastating impact on the health of people and river systems in the Western Cape and it's only a matter of time before there's a typhoid outbreak, a Stellenbosch University epidemiologist has warned.
Dr Jo Barnes, of the university's division of community health, told a recent Medical School symposium at Tygerberg Hospital that two "non-imported" typhoid cases had occurred in Wellington late last year, and it was not clear whether the health authorities had been notified, a step that was legally required.
Also, an as-yet unidentified microscopic creature had "poured" out of the taps of a Peninsula hospital for 14 days. This species had been shedding its outer skin and carried the risk of contaminating the water.
Because it was unknown, authorities did not know what dangers it posed.
Previously, "virtually indestructible" rat-tailed maggots - the Syrphid fly larvae that are an indication of polluted water because the species feeds on faecal remains - had been found, she said.
"I am addressing you on one of South Africa's own 'inconvenient truths'. This lecture comes with a health warning," Barnes told her audience. - Cape Argus
Dr Jo Barnes, of the university's division of community health, told a recent Medical School symposium at Tygerberg Hospital that two "non-imported" typhoid cases had occurred in Wellington late last year, and it was not clear whether the health authorities had been notified, a step that was legally required.
Also, an as-yet unidentified microscopic creature had "poured" out of the taps of a Peninsula hospital for 14 days. This species had been shedding its outer skin and carried the risk of contaminating the water.
Because it was unknown, authorities did not know what dangers it posed.
Previously, "virtually indestructible" rat-tailed maggots - the Syrphid fly larvae that are an indication of polluted water because the species feeds on faecal remains - had been found, she said.
"I am addressing you on one of South Africa's own 'inconvenient truths'. This lecture comes with a health warning," Barnes told her audience. - Cape Argus
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