At least 52 water tankers have been dispatched across Hammanskraal in the City of Tshwane to distribute water to communities amid a cholera outbreak that has killed 10 people.

The city has urged community members not to drink tap water in the region with Tshwane Health MMC Rina Marx saying clean drinking water would be supplied to informal settlements for the next few weeks.

The Gauteng Department of Health is investigating a diarrhoeal disease outbreak that has killed 10 people while survivors are being treated at the Jubilee District Hospital in Tshwane.

Residents in and around Hammanskraal are also advised to boil water before using it in cooking as it is still under investigation whether it's the water that is killing people.

According to Marx, the department will only receive results this week from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases which is testing the tap water. So far the source remains unknown.

"We also advise people they are not to drink the water if they are feeling uncomfortable, so they should rather cook the water or drink it with jik but not consume it as is.

"But since we do not have the final result, we cannot confirm if the source of these deaths is coming from the water. Remember that cholera can be spread in different ways -- in both direct and indirect ways -- so we are working on identifying the source first," she said.

In a statement released on Sunday by the health department, 95 people from Kanana, Suurman, Majaneng, Greenfield, Carousel View, Lephengville and Sekampaneng have been seen at the hospital for cholera symptoms since 15 May.

Compiled by Songeziwe Mapukata