Tap Water Warning Near Pretoria After 408 Fall Ill, Mostly Young Children
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Residents in several communities east of Pretoria, South Africa's capital, have been told not to drink or cook with tap water after 408 people fell ill, most of them children under four, according to the BBC. Officials say the illnesses were caused by contaminated water from a local treatment facility.
The departments of water and health announced the findings in a joint statement on Monday. No deaths have been reported, but high levels of E. coli were found in the water, the BBC reported.
What officials found
The cases were detected in Tshwane, the area that includes Pretoria. Patients went to their local hospital with stomach cramps and diarrhea over a two-week period, officials said. The 408 cases were recorded between Oct. 7 and Oct. 18 in about five townships.
Lab tests showed the illness was caused by residents' exposure to contaminated water from a treatment facility that supplies several communities east of Pretoria, the departments said. Samples tested positive for norovirus, campylobacter and shigella, along with other pathogens that cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. No cholera bacteria have been found in the latest cases, according to the BBC.
Early investigations by the officials' team found that local authorities had failed to warn residents about the contaminated water.
What this means for residents
The water supplied to the area has been declared unfit for human consumption. Authorities urged residents to use it only to flush toilets, and tankers have been sent to deliver clean drinking water.
Officials also gave instructions on stored water. Any water that was stored earlier should be thrown away, and containers must be disinfected with household bleach, they said. The warning covers cooking as well as drinking.
Young children make up most of the cases, which is why the age profile of those affected is a central concern in the announcement.
A history of waterborne outbreaks in Tshwane
The BBC noted that Tshwane has seen numerous waterborne disease outbreaks in recent years. In 2023, a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, a township just outside Pretoria, killed 29 people. That outbreak was linked to substandard water purification practices.
In 2025, officials confirmed 48 cases of typhoid in the same area east of Pretoria. The source of that outbreak remains unclear, the BBC reported.
What is still unclear
Officials have not said how the water became contaminated, or when normal supply is expected to resume. The statement named the treatment facility only as a local facility serving several communities east of Pretoria. The investigation into why residents were not warned earlier is at an early stage.
