Travellers urged to be vigilant of malaria during Easter holidays

The health department has urged travellers to be vigilant of malaria as South Africa is recording a slight increase in malaria cases, especially in malaria-endemic provinces which include Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

South Africa has also noted outbreaks of malaria in neighbouring countries in the Sadc region, mainly in Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

“This poses a threat of possible cross-border transmission of this preventable disease, especially as people travel across the region to destinations for religious and cultural reasons as part of Easter holidays,” the department said on Thursday.

People travelling to malaria-endemic areas should take precautions:

• take malaria prevention medication (prophylaxis) as advised by a health-care provider. Doxycycline is available freely in all public health facilities;
• use insect repellent containing at least 10% DEET;
• sleep under bed nets, use fans or air conditioning; and
• seek immediate medical attention if symptoms appear and always mention recent travel history.

The department urged health-care providers in endemic and non-endemic provinces to maintain a high level of suspicion for malaria in patients with flu-like symptoms and report confirmed cases immediately to support malaria surveillance and response.

TimesLIVE