The number of people being treated for cholera in Limpopo crept upwards to 645 from 633 by Tuesday as health and water authorities and NGOs continued with their efforts to eradicate it.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit by Health Minister Barbara Hogan, provincial health spokesperson Phuti Seloba said 62 people had so far been admitted to hospital, up from the 57 admissions since mid-November.

Hogan was visiting Musina and Madingo, which have borne the brunt of the Zimbabweans turning to South Africa's health facilities for treatment, as that country's health system cannot cope.

There are fears of it also being carried to neighbouring Mozambique and Botswana.

The disease has led to another international call for urgent intervention in the country, as the United Nations reports that 13 960 cholera cases have been reported, causing 589 deaths since August, by 5 December.

Forty three out of Zimbabwe's 62 districts have reported cases, said the United Nations International Children's Fund.

A story in Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper spoke of a woman battling cholera soiling herself as she waited at a bank to withdraw money, like many others struggling to get money out of the banking system.

The curable illness is characterised by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea which can rapidly lead to death by severe dehydration, the World Health Organisation explained.

South Africa's water authorities are trying to find ways of stopping the further contamination of parts of the Limpopo river, found to have tested positive for fecal matter and cholera and also plan to take samples in Gauteng rivers as a proactive measure.

A broken waste water works on the Zimbabwe side of the border has been compounding the problem and a team has travelled there to assist with its repair, said drinking water quality regulations manager Leonardo Manus.

Musina's treated water supply has been found to be safe.

Experts will travel up and down-river by helicopter to take samples amid concerns of contaminated water flows to Botswana and Mozambique.

Fecal matter has also been found in dry river beds, leading to concerns of ahead of the start of heavy rains.

Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, 13 people have been admitted to be treated for cholera, out of 38 suspected cases, provincial health department medical adviser Dr Chika Esomugha said.

The Zimbabwe administration has declared the cholera and health crisis a national disaster, but at the same time president Robert Mugabe suggested it could be used as an excuse to remove him.

Hogan's delegation includes representatives of the World Health Organisation and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

Sapa