One of the affected prisoners was in serious condition. The eastern KwaZulu-Natal province has been plagued by cholera since August. More than 90,000 people have been infected and 194 have died. The outbreak is South Africa's worst since the early 1980s, when more than 105,400 people contracted the waterborne disease over a four-year period. More than 340 people died in four consecutive epidemics.
Cholera is one of nature's most efficient killers, sometimes claiming lives within hours of onset.
The bacterium attacks the intestine of humans and can cause death by severe dehydration resulting from diarrhea.