Isophoric News · Thursday, October 22, 2026
More than 500 people ill in two South African cities, with water quality blamed
More than 500 people in South Africa have fallen ill with a gastrointestinal illness that authorities blame on poor water quality in two cities, Africanews reported: 408 people in communities east of Pretoria, where residents were told to stop drinking tap water, and at least 111 Rhodes University students in Gqeberha, where the cause is still being investigated. Officials said the treatment plant supplying the Pretoria communities had not been chlorinated for about three weeks, and Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya said city officials failed to warn the affected areas that the water should not be drunk, even after boiling, according to Africanews. Daily Maverick, in a report carried by AllAfrica, put the number sickened in Bronkhorstspruit at about 450 and said the plant had no chlorine added from Sept. 24 to Oct. 14. Africanews said most of those who fell ill were children under 4.