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Limpopo deploys teams to help fight Malaria

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The annual Malaria Spraying campaign in Limpopo is underway. Last year 16 000 people contracted malaria in Limpopo and about 1% of them died.

More than 1 million houses will be sprayed for the next six months at a cost of R100 million.

The campaign started at Folvhodwe village in Vhembe, close to Zimbabwe. 42 teams are deployed along the Zimbabwe and Mozambique borders, at the Burgersfort mines and along the Lephalale River.

Similar campaigns are also held in Eastern Mpumalanga and Northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The Limpopo MEC for health led the campaign on Tuesday.

Limpopo Health MEC, Phophi Ramathuba says, “When people start feeling sick they must not hesitate to go the clinics. The symptoms are the same as for flu. It is fever, headaches, body aches and vomiting. Don’t self-treat, when you realize it is something else than flu it might be too late.”

During the last malaria season Joseph Kwinda, his wife Gloria Mulovhedzi and both their children contracted malaria at the same time.

Gloria says, “My husband was sick first and eventually I convinced him to go to the hospital. They found that we all have malaria. It was very difficult because nobody could take care of anyone else. The house was also left unoccupied for more than a week.”

Dr. Ramathuba also appealed to communities to cooperate and not refuse team’s entrance to their dwellings.

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