More than 500 people in South Africa have suffered from gastrointestinal ailments in two incidents suspected to be caused by contaminated water, leading to emergency water supplies and public health warnings.
In communities east of Pretoria, 408 people including young children have been treated for illnesses after drinking water authorities said was unsafe to consume.
Authorities told people not to drink water from a tap supplied by an affected treatment plant, raising concerns about water safety and the management of public utilities.
Emergency tankers distributed water to residents on Wednesday, and the charity Gift of the Givers provided bottled water. Most of the people who fell ill in the Pretoria region were children under four years old.
Health and municipal authorities said the treatment plant had not chlorinated its water for approximately three weeks, rendering it unfit for human consumption.
The municipality reportedly had difficulty obtaining chlorine from its regular supplier. The plant draws water from the Bronkhorstspruit River, which officials said was heavily contaminated with sewage due to faulty wastewater treatment facilities upstream.
An initial investigation also found that officials had failed to inform residents about the water quality. Nasiphi Moya, mayor of Tshwane, the municipality covering Pretoria and surrounding areas, said officials had not notified affected residents that the water had not been chlorinated. She said residents should not drink the water or use it for cooking, washing or bathing, even after boiling.
The incident has triggered political criticism with several parties calling for Moya to step down and other officials to be fired. Meanwhile, a separate gastrointestinal ailment outbreak has affected students at Rhodes University in Gqeberha, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.
The university said at least 111 students had been treated over several days. University and water authorities were investigating the cause with water quality among the suspected factors. University spokesperson Olwetu Gwanya said students with severe symptoms had been taken to hospital but had since returned to campus.
Staff and students were urged to take precautions with respect to drinking water, food preparation and personal hygiene. The guidance includes drinking boiled and cooled or bottled water, using safe water to prepare food and brush teeth, avoiding ice and uncooked food washed in untreated water, and washing hands regularly with soap and water.
The two incidents have raised concerns about water quality and public health risks in South Africa. However, the cause of the Rhodes University outbreak had not been confirmed in the source report.
