Water Wheel Sept/Oct 2023: Water And Health

Abstract

Why cholera is ‘pretty damn smart’ and how we can beat it The precise origin of the cholera and the exact strain of the toxin-producing bacteria that has claimed 47 lives this year, mostly in Hammanskraal near Pretoria, remains a lot like the polluted waters of the region’s Apies River, murky. What is clear, however, is that the loss of life could have been avoided. Ensuring drinking water safety is the key to beating the infectious diarrhoeal disease, but to get this right we will need to do two things: hold officials and politicians to account over our dilapidated or non-existent wastewater treatment systems; and press into service more cheap-and-cheerful, household-based water treatment systems. These were a few of the views and recommendations that emerged during an online seminar hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa, aimed at improving understanding of the disease and finding ways to curb it.

Categories