http://www.zimbabwesituation.c...s-new-malaria-alert/



Zim issues new malaria alert

By ZimSitRep_M | March 19, 2017 0 Comment
Source: Zim issues new malaria alert – DailyNews Live

Bridget Mananavire 18 March 2017

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s stone-broke government is finding it increasingly
difficult to contain disease outbreaks in the country, with health
officials reporting 89 000 new cases of malaria and 151 malaria-related
deaths in the past two months alone.

This comes as the ministry of Health and Child Care has issued a fresh
cholera alert in Manicaland and Masvingo, where two people have so far
succumbed to the disease which killed more than 4 000 people at the height
of Zimbabwe’s political and economic turmoil in 2008.

At the same time, Health ministry malaria programme manager, Joseph
Mberikunashe, told the Daily News yesterday that the recent heavy rains
had seen a spike in malaria cases, while floods had also made it difficult
to access certain affected areas around the country.

“The rainfall has seen an increase in malaria cases. In the first nine
weeks of this year, we recorded 151 deaths and 89 261 malaria cases.

“As the transmission of malaria depends on humidity, the recent heavy
rains mean that there will be more breeding ground for malaria, and many
communities are now exposed to the disease, including artisanal miners who
sleep in the open,” he said.

The worst-affected areas are the low-lying regions of the country which
include parts of Chiredzi, Chipinge, Mutare, Mutasa, Goromonzi, Centenary,
Uzumba, Maramba Pfungwe, Bindura and Beitbridge.

This week, the Health ministry issued a cholera alert after two people
died, while two others were treated for the disease in Manicaland and
Masvingo provinces respectively.

The highly-communicable disease is believed to have spread from
neighbouring Mozambique, where a cholera epidemic has infected more than 1
000 people in the aftermath of Cyclone Dineo.

Zimbabwe’s public health sector has lurched from one crisis to the other
over the past two decades, as the country’s stone-broke government
struggles to pay workers and stock hospitals.

Recently, health services were crippled when doctors and nurses staged a
national strike, pressing for improved working conditions.

Most public hospitals are collapsing under the weight of a myriad
problems, including the shortage of drugs and continued under-funding by
the government.

The country’s major hospitals recently warned that they were running low
on the supply of a major drug used during surgical operations – after
major drug supplier, GSK, pulled out of the Zimbabwean market last year.

Last week, hospitals were hit by shortages of the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin
(BCG) vaccine, which prevents infants from contracting tuberculosis (TB).

In 2016, major referral hospitals also had to suspend many services as a
result of the shortage of drugs, including painkillers – exposing how much
things have fallen apart in the country since the early 2000s.

United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and Harare Central Hospital were among the
major health facilities that had to suspend normal services as a result of
drug shortages, including pethidine – a synthetic compound used as a
painkiller, especially for women in labour and during Caesarean
operations.

http://traveller24.news24.com/...ria-warning-20170320

Link has map.



ALERT: Limpopo on high alert as Botswana issues Malaria warning

2017-03-20 10:45 - Selene Brophy



Cape Town - Travellers heading to Botswana or those who find themselves in Limpopo need to ensure they take the correct preventative measures as a warning has been issued for high levels of malaria in both of these regions.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness for Botswana has issued a warning that the country is experiencing a high levels of malaria, following the recent heavy rains.

"There have been increases in the number of cases in Okavango, Ngami, Chobe, Boteti, Tutume and Bobirwa. Travel agents are advised to warn their clients to seek medical advice two weeks before travelling to malarial areas."

The Limpopo Health Department has also announced an increase in the number or reported malaria cases in the province, particularly around Lephalale and Thabazimbi.

'Not an outbreak, however in uncommon malaria area'

News24 reports the Limpopo health department on Tuesday 14 March confirmed at least 46 cases of malaria had been reported in the western Waterberg district around Lephalale and Thabazimbi. The department's spokesperson Thabiso Teffo stated no fatalities had been reported.

“It is an area that does not normally have malaria mosquitoes. We also worried that 70% of the cases reported were people who had not travelled. It means they had contracted malaria in the area they stay.” Teffo said the department started spraying insecticide and informed residents and doctors.

However it is important to note that the department says it is "not an outbreak. It’s malaria season". The concern is that the cases are uncommon because it’s an area where we don’t expect malaria.


What you need to know about Malaria:

According to Health24 Malaria occurs when a parasite from the species Plasmodium infects a person's red blood cells. Malaria is endemic to areas where the Anopheles mosquito (that carries the disease) occurs – usually in hot humid climates.
The cycle of malaria starts when a female Anopheles mosquito bites a person with malaria and ingests blood containing malarial parasites. When the mosquito bites another person, the parasites are injected into the body along with the mosquito's saliva.
Once in the body, the parasites circulate in the bloodstream until they reach the liver, where they multiply and mature over an average of 1 to 2 weeks. Thereafter the parasites leave the liver and enter the blood stream and infect red blood cells, where they multiply and eventually cause the infected cells to rupture. The parasites released from the ruptured red blood cells infect even more red blood cells, setting off the cycle once more.
If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs.
Malaria symptoms Include:

The first symptoms usually appear between 7 and 10 days after the patient was bitten and are very similar to that of the flu – fever, chills, muscle pain and headaches. After a few days, the typical cyclical symptoms of malaria (or periodic attacks) may occur – chills, followed firstly by a high fever, and them by profuse sweating.
Malaria may also present with unusual symptoms such as abdominal pain and nausea. In rare cases there may not be the typical fever. Any symptom of illness after visiting a tropical country with malaria should therefore alert one to the possibility that one may indeed have malaria.


In severe cases the patient may experience convulsions or go into a coma.

Preventative medication:

Before going to a malaria area, it is very important to get updated information on whether prophylaxis is required and what the current recommendations are. It is best to seek advice from health professionals who specialise in the requirements of travellers.

The following anti-malarial medication is available in South Africa:
Mefloquine, Atovaquone, Doxycycline - visit Health24 for full details.

Why doesn't one of these mossies bite Mugabe?

Mosquitos have their standards.

quote:

Why doesn't one of these mossies bite Mugabe?

Thy are afraid of catching GonnoCocalSyphliHerpeMidia!