Three cases of typhoid fever have been reported in the Western Cape, the provincial health department said on Thursday.

Two of the patients were children, both girls aged 9 and 10, in the Cape Town area.

The third patient was a 52-year-old man from the Cape Winelands, said department spokesperson Mark van den Heever.

Some of them had travelled to affected areas including Zimbabwe. The first case was identified on 10 January and the latest one on 20 January.

Typhoid fever is a severe illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi, according to Health24.

It is acquired by swallowing the organism in contaminated food or water. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, abdominal pain, rash, diarrhoea and an enlarged spleen. It can be cured with antibiotics.

More cases expected in Gauteng

The Gauteng health department confirmed over the weekend that four cases of typhoid fever had been identified in Johannesburg, and that one person had died, News24 reported on Monday.

The department said in a statement on Sunday that the cases were identified in Hillbrow and Yeoville in Johannesburg, Edenvale in Ekurhuleni, and Palm Springs in Vereeniging.

Two of the patients were admitted to the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital and the other two patients to the Edenvale District Hospital.

The 27-year-old female Malawian patient died at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital on January 17.

She had travelled to Malawi for the festive season and returned to Johannesburg via Mozambique on January 12.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said more cases of typhoid fever could be expected in Gauteng in the next few weeks, Eyewitness News reported.

The NICD said the fever was not contagious.