Pretoria-area tap water unsafe after 400 fall ill

Residents in parts of South Africa's Tshwane municipality, which includes Pretoria, have been told not to drink tap water after waterborne pathogens led more than 400 people to seek medical treatment, the city said Tuesday.

Tests found high levels of E. coli bacteria in water from the Bronkhorstspruit water treatment plant, which supplies the affected areas. The city said the water could only be used to flush toilets.

Government records said more than 400 people were taken ill between October 7 and 18, most of them children under four. No deaths have been reported, and new cases peaked at 72 on October 13.

The health department said stool samples from patients also contained norovirus, campylobacter and shigella, which can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea. It said no cholera bacteria were found in the sampled stools.

The government said the Bronkhorstspruit plant went without chlorination for three weeks because of problems with its chlorine supplier. President Cyril Ramaphosa said the national government had intervened and hoped to resolve the crisis within days.