Johannesburg  - The death toll in a regional cholera outbreak that has claimed over 2,200 lives in Zimbabwe has risen sharply in South Africa, where 19 people were reported dead in the north-east Monday.

The provincial health minister in Mpumalanga province, which is home to the famous Kruger National Park and borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique, told a press conference: "We now have 19 deaths recorded as cholera cases."

The province had previously listed a single fatality in an outbreak of the waterborne disease that struck the province in late December.

Since December 31, Mpumalanga's hospitals have treated up to 642 people for symptoms of the diarrheal disease.

It was not clear whether the latest deaths, which bring to over 30 the number of South Africans that have succumbed to the disease in recent months, were linked to the devastating outbreak in Zimbabwe.

Until now, most of the more than 2,000 infection cases were recorded in Limpopo province, near the busy Musina border crossing to Zimbabwe.

Zambia and Mozambique, which also border Zimbabwe, have also suffered dozens of cholera deaths in recent months, with the situation expected to worsen as heavy seasonal rains begin pelting the region, polluting water supplies.

At least 70 people have died in Mozambique since August and 28 in Zambia. (dpa)