What we learn from the history of cholera is that resistance to implementing fundamental human health management practices, first learnt in London in the 1800s, costs human lives.

The public was recently shocked to hear of the loss of life due to cholera in the Hammanskraal area. Panic swiftly fanned the flames of discontent as efforts were made to find evidence that cholera is lurking in other parts of the country.

We now have a confirmed death rate of 32, with two coming from the Free State, proving that the cholera crisis is wider than Hammanskraal.

The loss of life is tragic, but have we learnt anything from history that might inform the present?

The epicentre of the 2023 cholera crisis is undoubtedly Hammanskraal, with a smoking gun being the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) where a clear trail of forensic evidence of corruption, malfeasance and tender-rigging exists.

But, at the time of writing, no clear linkage has been claimed by any investigating authority. The news cycle has passed, so maybe the hope is that public interest will fade before demands are made for a clear pronouncement on the discovery of the epicentre.

Let me expand on this by using a tool accepted in the procedure and science of investigation. That tool is known as Occam's razor, and it basically says that when solving a complex problem with...