Religious leaders have been urged by the Gauteng Department of Health to stay away from rivers and dams for baptism purposes this Easter weekend. This is because the number of cholera cases in the province keep rising. The department said unpurified water is a major contributor to the cholera outbreak.

CASES ON THE RISE 

The department recently recorded 11 cholera cases in Gauteng - with one fatality reported in February. The department's spokesperson Motaletale Modiba said caution must be always exercised. "The MEC further advised people who will be travelling to cholera-endemic regions to take precautionary measures. The outbreaks usually occur in settings with inadequate sanitation and insufficient access to drinking water." Modiba said the disease affects people of all ages and dismissed claims suggesting that cholera only affected specific age groups. Symptoms of cholera range from mild to severe and watery diarrhea and dehydration. The incubation period (the period from when the person ingests cholera contaminated water/food to when they first become ill) ranges from a few hours to five days, usually two to three days. The department said outbreak response teams remain on high alert and they will continue to educate communities about the disease.  

RIVER AND DAM BAPTISM STILL RISKY  

In a statement, Gauteng MEC for Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said although the laboratory results of the samples taken from the rivers concerned came back negative of the cholera strain, the risk of contracting the disease is still high for people who conduct their religious ceremonies in rivers and dams. The tests were conducted in rivers after four cases of people who had been baptised in the Jukskei and Klip Rivers last month were recorded.  

RIVER BAPTISM OUTDATED 

Bishop Bafana Tshabalala from the Holy Ethiopian Church in Zion said river and dam baptisms were outdated and risky. He said people can now be baptised in pools or bath tubs. "We've experienced so many unnecessary drownings which could have been avoided. Things are no longer the same, people no longer respect or value the sacredness of nature and therefore mother nature has become unkind because of that, so it's best to stay away from these places and respect them. Prophets and zangoma fail to keep rivers clean, they slaughter there and throw carcasses into the water which makes it dirty. So, I agree with the health department on this one," Tshabalala added.