Department urges communities to be cautious of malaria
Gauteng Department of Health urges citizens of the province to look out for signs and symptoms of and immediately seek medical attention if there are any suspicions.
During the festive season, some people travelled to malaria endemic areas such as Kruger National Park, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya and Somalia without taking anti-malarial medication and upon return may develop Malaria.
Although the Gauteng province is not a malaria endemic area, there have been cases where the Malaria vectors (infected mosquitoes) were imported into the province by people travelling from Malaria endemic areas and caused others to become infected with Malaria.
The two cases of Malaria that have been recently reported in the South of Johannesburg (Eldorado Park and Lenasia) is an example of the above. The two people did not have a history of travel to any Malaria endemic area and yet contracted Malaria. The possibility is that they were infected through importation of infected mosquitoes.
Last year, the province had over 1 700 cases of Malaria and of those, 23 resulted in death. It was established that those who passed on, were people who did not take precautionary measures against the disease and presented late at health facilities.
Malaria is a disease that is transmitted by the bites of a certain type of mosquito. The climate within Gauteng province does not support reproduction of this type of mosquito. Symptoms of Malaria include fever, headache, flu-like symptoms, body aches and pains, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. People at most risk include immuno-compromised people, children under five, the elderly and pregnant women.
To prevent malaria, people are urged to avoid travelling to Malaria endemic areas, especially if one is at risk, take anti-malarial medication before one travels to these areas, avoid mosquito bites by: staying indoors at night, wearing long-sleeve shirts and trousers or using mosquito repellents that can be applied to exposed skin area, burn mosquito repellent candles and coils, spray insecticides, and use nets around the bed.
The department would like to reiterate that Gauteng is not a malaria endemic area, however, because of the travelling during the festive season, people are urged to seek medical attention where signs and symptoms of malaria are suspected especially if the person has travelled to Malaria endemic areas.
Enquiries:
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892
