Tshwane records spike in Typhoid cases in Hammanskraal and Bronkhorstspruit

Mapaballo Borotho

Typhoid fever — Image @Benton Franklin Health District

The City of Tshwane has confirmed an increase in Typhoid cases in Hammanskraal and Bronkhorstspruit.
Authorities are working with national departments to trace the source of the outbreak, although no Salmonella Typhi has been detected in the city’s water network.
Residents have been urged to avoid using untreated water as investigations continue.

The City of Tshwane has recorded an increase in Typhoid cases in the dusty streets of Hammanskraal, in the north of the city, and in Bronkhorstspruit.

Typhoid is a bacterial infection caused by Salmonella Typhi that spreads through contaminated food and water.

Preliminary results from recent drinking water samples tested have not indicated an epidemiological link between these cases.

Furthermore, the results have not yet determined the source of the contamination.

In a media statement released by the City of Tshwane on Friday, 31 October 2025, the City assured residents that reports of this disease are being taken seriously and that investigations will be intensified.

“The City is working closely with the Department of Health, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to ascertain the root cause of the increase in these cases. Routine water quality tests of drinking water continue to be conducted across the City’s network, and no detection of Salmonella Typhi has been recorded to date,” the statement read.

Tshwane further assured residents that monitoring and testing protocols are in place to ensure all treated water supplied complies with the South African National Standard for drinking water.

“The City would like to appeal to communities to refrain from using untreated river or borehole water for domestic purposes as a precautionary measure. Only piped municipal water that has been properly treated and tested should be used for drinking and cooking,” the statement added.

Confirmation of Typhoid fever cases comes just two years after scores of people in Hammanskraal were infected and died of cholera.

Though the main source of the disease that left the community reeling is not yet known, the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant remains the primary suspect.