Johannesburg – The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday it was seeing a significant increase in malaria cases in the endemic provinces, as well as in Gauteng.
The institute said many cases of severe malaria are due to late presentation or late detection.
“Undiagnosed and untreated malaria rapidly progresses to severe illness, with a potentially fatal outcome," said NICD spokesperson Sinenhlanhla Jimoh.
The institute has urged anyone presenting with fever or “flu-like illness”, if they reside in a malaria-risk area in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga or have travelled to a malaria-risk area in the past six weeks to be tested for malaria by blood smear microscopy or a malaria rapid-diagnostic test.
“If they test positive for malaria, the patient must be started on malaria treatment immediately,” Jimoh said.
The NICD added that patients must remember to inform their healthcare provider of their recent travel, particularly to neighbouring countries and malaria-risk areas in South Africa, so that the healthcare provider is made aware of the possibility of malaria.
“Odyssean or ‘taxi malaria’, transmitted by hitch-hiking mosquitoes should be considered in a patient with unexplained fever who has not travelled to a malaria-endemic area, but is getting progressively sicker with a low platelet count,” Jimoh said.
Warning: Seek medical attention early. Both malaria and Covid-19 have similar non-specific early symptoms including fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, and muscle pain.
The Star