Pretoria - The provincial Department of Health in Limpopo has appealed to community members to take precautionary measures to protect themselves against malaria amid an increase in the number of cases in the province.
Malaria-endemic areas across the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) have also observed an increase in reported cases.
“The province has seen a surge in the number of cases that rose to 1 423 and two deaths during the past four weeks. These numbers are high compared to the previous years. For instance, in 2022/2023 financial year, annual figures stood at 1 745,” said Thilivhali Muavha, spokesperson for Limpopo MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba.
He said the current surge is attributed to favourable weather conditions for mosquito breeding and the peak travelling season during the Easter holidays, which saw some people travel to malaria-endemic areas in the SADC region.
“The surge in the province is reported mainly in the malaria epidemic-prone areas of Vhembe (northern and eastern lowveld areas) and the eastern part of the Mopani region. Of these cases, 820 were reported from Vhembe and 423 from Mopani.
“Donald Fraser, Malamulele, Tshilidzini, Letaba, Maphuta Malatji, and Nkhensani Hospitals, and the clinics within the feeder areas of these hospitals are reporting the majority of the cases,” said Muavha.
The provincial health department, however, cautioned community members in other areas to also be on alert.
“Malaria is a treatable condition when discovered early, and therefore, community members are advised to visit their nearest healthcare facilities as soon as they suspect that they could have contracted the disease.
“Malaria symptoms include fever and flu-like symptoms such as shaking, chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea may also occur in some cases,” said Muavha.
He added that, so far, over a million households in Limpopo had been reached through the department's indoor residual spraying campaign.
“Surveillance teams are currently investigating all notified cases at the community level, which involves contact tracing and awareness related to prevention and early treatment seeking behaviour,” said Muavha.
IOL