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On Monday, the Gauteng health department announced that the province recorded 1 105 malaria cases and 10 deaths over the first nine months of this year.
This as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) commemorated Malaria Day. The health department encouraged travellers visiting malaria-endemic areas, including Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, to take precautionary measures.
In a statement, the department said:
"In the country, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal are among the malaria-endemic provinces. However, non-endemic provinces, such as Gauteng, must continue to raise awareness about how to avoid and manage the disease because many people in the province frequently visit endemic areas, increasing the danger of malaria spreading."
The department said that it had worked with Doctors Without Borders to increase awareness and translate malaria information, education and communication into Portuguese. This, as a result of Mozambicans accounting for 90% of all cases reported in Gauteng.
The symptoms include fever, headache, general body aches and pains, general body weakness, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhoea and flu.
The department warned that it was crucial that anyone who experienced any of these symptoms after travelling to a region where malaria was common be tested for the disease and treated right away because waiting too long might result in fatality.
The department added: “While raising awareness about malaria, the health department also offers those leaving South Africa to endemic areas malaria chemoprophylaxis as part of efforts to prevent the infection rate. The department also encourages travellers to report any symptoms of malaria within 21 days of coming back from their trips for malaria rapid test and early treatment.”
Facts about malaria:
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.
- About 3.2 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – are at risk of malaria.
Young children, pregnant women and non-immune travellers from malaria-free areas are particularly vulnerable to the disease when they become infected. - Malaria is preventable and curable, and increased efforts are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places.
- Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
- In 2015, the region was home to 89% of malaria cases and 91% of malaria deaths.
The department advises people that when visiting a malaria-endemic area, it is critical that they take precautions, such as wearing long trousers and long-sleeved shirts, staying indoors between dusk and dawn, sleeping in air-conditioned rooms or rooms with fans, and sleeping under insecticide-treated netting.
