Authorities in South Africa have cautioned communities around Pretoria against drinking or preparing meals with tap water after 408 people, mainly children below four years, developed illnesses linked to polluted supplies.
The infections were recorded in Tshwane between October 7 and 18, following reports of abdominal pain and diarrhoea at nearby medical facilities.
Laboratory examinations detected high concentrations of E. coli, alongside norovirus, campylobacter, shigella and other disease-causing organisms.
Officials confirmed that no fatalities had been recorded and no cholera bacteria were identified.
In a joint announcement on Monday, the water and health departments attributed the infections to exposure to unsafe supplies from a treatment plant serving several communities east of Pretoria.
Preliminary inquiries also revealed that local authorities had allegedly failed to alert affected households about the danger.
The development has renewed concerns about recurring water-related illnesses in Tshwane.
In 2023, a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, near Pretoria, claimed 29 lives and was associated with inadequate purification processes.
The same locality recorded 48 typhoid infections in 2025, although investigators could not establish the origin of that outbreak.
Officials have since declared the current supply unsafe for human use, directing residents to reserve it exclusively for flushing toilets.
Emergency water tankers have been deployed to provide safe drinking supplies to affected neighbourhoods.
Authorities have further advised households to dispose of previously stored water and sanitise their containers with domestic bleach to prevent additional infections.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong