Nearly 400 children fall ill in South Africa after ingesting contaminated water

Residents in several townships east of Pretoria have been told not to drink or cook with tap water after 408 people — most of them children younger than 4 — were sickened in an outbreak linked to contaminated water, according to the BBC.

Here's what to know

Officials logged the cases in Tshwane between Oct. 7 and Oct. 18. 

Patients arrived at a local hospital with "stomach cramps and diarrhoea." No deaths have been reported, but testing showed elevated E. coli levels in the water.

In a joint statement, South Africa's departments of water and health said samples from a local treatment plant serving several communities east of Pretoria contained norovirus, campylobacter, shigella, and "other pathogens that cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea."

Officials in Tshwane responded by limiting tap water use after tests identified several known pathogens in water samples.

Because most reported cases involved children under 4, basic day-to-day matters such as cooking, mixing infant formula, and storing drinking water became urgent health risks.

More background

Tshwane has dealt with repeated waterborne disease clusters. 

In 2023, a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, a township outside Pretoria, killed 29 people. It was later linked to substandard water purification practices.

The same area east of Pretoria also recorded 48 confirmed typhoid cases in 2025. 

In the current outbreak, officials indicated cholera bacteria has not been detected, and the source of the contamination is still unknown.

Investigators noted that early findings showed local authorities had not warned residents that the water was contaminated, potentially meaning families continued using unsafe tap water for meals and child care even after symptoms began to appear.

With most patients under 4, the outbreak put added pressure on parents, clinics, and hospitals in the affected townships.

What's being done?

Officials declared water supplied to several communities east of Pretoria unfit for human consumption and told residents to use it only for flushing toilets, not for drinking or cooking.

Tankers delivered clean drinking water to roughly five affected townships where the cases were detected.

Officials issued guidance for homes that may already have contaminated reserves. 

"Previously stored water should be discarded, and water containers must be disinfected using household bleach," the departments advised.

Lab tests "indicate that the illness has been caused by residents being exposed to contaminated water," officials acknowledged.

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