South Africa's Health Ministry on Sunday reported that the cholera death toll has risen to 26.

Pretoria.- The Health Ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale once afresh urged the population to take precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the disease.

Most cholera cases in South Africa have been so far reported in the central province of Gauteng, specifically in the Hammanskraal district, north of Pretoria, where people in abject poverty are presently living.

Last week, health authorities in the northern province of Limpopo reported one cholera case, the first one in that district.

Phophi Ramathuba, a member of the Limpopo Health Executive Council, stated the patient was not infected by local sources from contaminated water but was linked to neighboring Zimbabwe.

As for the Hammanskraal outbreak, specialists have not yet been able to determine the primary source of infection. Contamination from drinking water sources has been ruled out. (PL)