Rotavirus alert sparks health campaign
|Published
Research shows that diarrhoea kills more than two million children around the world every year. Washing your hands with soap reduces your risk of illness. Picture: Lulama Zenzile Research shows that diarrhoea kills more than two million children around the world every year. Washing your hands with soap reduces your risk of illness. Picture: Lulama Zenzile
Durban - The eThekwini Municipality is to run an education and information programme in Durban communities on the risk of diarrhoea after two children died and more than 150 were admitted to hospital with the condition in the past three months.
All those affected were under five and were from Inanda, Amaoti, Ntuzuma, Mayville and KwaMashu. Health officials have warned that other suburbs could be affected.
Officials are visiting health facilities across Durban to ascertain whether there has been an increase in the number of cases.
Augustine’s Hospital confirmed that, it had seen an increase in the number of patients admitted to the hospital with rotavirus – a common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and small children.
However, hospital general manager Augusta Dorning said more adults than children had been admitted with the illness.
Leanne Nyiri, a spokeswoman for Westville Hospital, said it too had seen more patients with diarrhoea in the past month, but also more adults than children.
Other Durban hospitals reported no noticeable increase.
Diarrhoea, which is spread through poor hygiene, like not washing hands after going to the toilet, can lead to severe dehydration, and even death among children, if not treated immediately.
Physical contact with those infected, especially through food preparation, can pass the virus or bacteria on.
Ayo Olowolagba, the city’s deputy head of communicable diseases, said he did not know yet what had caused the outbreak but that the majority of the first cases were at King Edward VIII Hospital in Umbilo.
“Once doctors realised that the number of people presenting with this condition was higher than usual, they informed the authorities,” he said. Staff at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Phoenix saw 39 cases.
Durban mayor James Nxumalo called on communities to take precautions to avoid the spread of the disease.
“Our health unit is alerting communities to respond appropriately to the problem. People in the affected areas should be vigilant and immediately seek medical assistance if they present with symptoms.”
Details
In those areas identified by the city health department, Olowolagba said, officials had intervened to ensure health workers were vigilant when taking patient history details, particularly regarding provision of sanitation.
Outbreak response teams would now conduct household visits to ascertain the level of health and hygiene knowledge in Durban homes, he said.
In Upington, in the Northern Cape, health authorities have been grappling with a similar outbreak.
The problem there has been identified as gastroenteritis. It has already claimed six lives and, in the past 24 hours, a further 22 cases were reported in the Siyanda district.
At a media briefing held by the province’s Health Department, it emerged that three of the new patients were younger than five. - The Mercury