Following a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, the death toll has risen to 21, with a spike in confirmed cases also reported.

The person died after the Gauteng health department announced the 20th death since the outbreak of the acute diarrhoeal disease.

On Friday, the department said the number of "laboratory-confirmed" cases of cholera treated at Jubilee District Hospital in Hammanskraal had risen to 44.

The number of confirmed cases stood at 29 on Thursday afternoon.

"Currently, 74 patients are admitted due to gastrointestinal infection," the department said on Friday morning.

The department added, "We advise the public to report to their nearest health facilities when they present with diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and dehydration symptoms, so they can receive medical treatment."

More than 170 people have been treated for diarrhoeal disease at Jubilee hospital since the outbreak.

Earlier this week, health officials said all cases in which people exhibited symptoms associated with diarrhoeal disease would be treated according to cholera treatment protocols.

On Thursday, the health department in the Free State announced that it had recorded its first cholera-related death.