Cholera epidemic could persist

The cholera epidemic in South Africa that has so far killed 85 people could persist until the end of 2002, health officials in KwaZulu-Natal province said on Monday. Zweli Mkhize, minister of health for KwaZulu-Natal told the legislature that with hundreds of new infections being reported in the province daily, it was unlikely the epidemic could be contained by the start of winter. At the very worst, he warned, the epidemic could still be raging by the end of next year. “The authorities never dreamt that it would become so serious,” Mkhize said. He said the infection rate was expected to peak in February and March when the risk of cholera was highest. The disease started in KwaZulu-Natal but has since spread to three more of the country’s nine provinces. In Gauteng the disease has spread to townships outside Johannesburg. In the Northern province, six people have died and more than 200 have been infected. News reports said on Tuesday that the government has given a team of officials from the health and water departments until Friday to coordinate a national strategy to combat the disease. Local government minister Sydney Mufamadi was quoted as saying that “unless something was done urgently the epidemic could turn into a national disaster”.