Travelling South Africans now have to another disease to be cautious about when going abroad. The Department of Health has urged all those traveling to and from malaria-endemic or high-risk areas to take the appropriate precautionary measures. This is to prevent possible infections as the country enters malaria season.
The summer season usually marks the start of the country’s malaria period. This is due to higher temperatures and increased rainfall in the malaria transmission areas.
The country recorded over 7,400 cases of malaria between January and October this year alone. Only 17% of these cases were acquired locally. This means, more people got infected while traveling outside of the country.
At least 66 people have reportedly died during this period due to the disease.
Those who have confirmed cases of malaria have had symptoms such as a headache, fever, chills and muscle or joint pains. Anyone who experiences similar symptoms is urged to visit their local health facility as soon as possible for effective treatment if tested positive.
In a statement, the department added that late presentation to health facilities with symptoms is one of the contributing factors to increasing malaria morbidity and mortality rates.
The disease is defined as a life-threatening, but preventable and curable disease.
“Early detection saves lives”
The Health Department is intensifying its response plan to curb the disease. This will be done through malaria screening and testing around borders in high-malaria risk provinces. These include KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. This will be done throughout the year for early detection of imported cases.
Indoor residual spraying in high malaria areas will also be done every year starting in September until the beginning of the following year. The department will also commit to having public education campaigns to spread awareness about the disease.
“Pregnant women and children under five years should avoid visiting malaria-endemic areas unless they take extra precaution measures.”
The Gauteng Department of Health said it continues to target public transport nodes, such as taxi ranks and bus stations, to heighten education among the public on prevention measures. This is as the Southern African Development Community observed Malaria Day on Monday.
Gauteng hospitals reported over 1 105 malaria cases and 10 deaths from January to September this year, as a result of the life-threatening disease.
“The majority of people who were admitted and those who have demised as a result of the disease had travelled to Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola.”
