Diarrhoeal season hits the Cape
The City of Cape Town confirmed that 5 930 children have been treated in its clinics since the season started last month.
|||Cape Town - Two children have died in the past month and thousands have been treated for gastrointestinal upsets as diarrhoeal season hits the Cape.
The City of Cape Town has confirmed that 5 930 children, mostly under the age of five, have been treated in its clinics since the season started last month.
November to April is known as diarrhoea season in the province because of the high temperatures that allow bacteria to flourish, particularly in informal settlements, which are characterised by overcrowding, poor service delivery and sanitation, and inadequate infrastructure.
Diarrhoeal diseases are ranked the third major cause of mortality in South African children under the age of 5.
Between last year and early this year, 14 children died. More than 27 000 cases were treated in the province between November and April this year - a 14 percent drop compared with almost 32 000 cases of diarrhoea during the 2013/14 diarrhoea season.
About 4 500 of them were admitted to state hospitals across the province.
The city’s mayoral committee member for health, Siyabulela Mamkeli, said 5 930 cases had been reported at clinics since November, with 284 cases presenting as moderate dehydration and 64 as severe dehydration.
Two deaths had since been reported at Kraaifontein Community Health Centre last month, both from Bloekombos.
Although different sub-districts had their own hot spots, Mamkeli noted that most of these were informal settlements and low- income areas.
The city has made a number of interventions to counter diarrhoea, such as the promotion of breast-feeding and fast-tracking children presenting with diarrhoea symptoms. Mamkeli said it had also trained workers to provide awareness about this preventable disease.
Workers from the Expanded Public Works Programme were conducting health education, under the supervision of environmental health practitioners, to cover hot spots.
Environmental health practitioners also visited informal settlements every week to monitor potential health hazards and educate residents on measures to reduce the spread of diarrhoea.
Mamkeli said although diarrhoea was a common ailment, it was important to watch for signs of dehydration associated with it, especially in young children, because it could be fatal if not attended to on time.
Hand washing and food safety principles were emphasised during these awareness sessions, and care givers were educated about the importance of reporting diarrhoea early, use of oral rehydration solution and diarrhoea danger signs.
The hotter it got the more cases of diarrhoea were reported at city clinics, he added.
How to spot the symptoms
There are a range of signs that your child has diarrhoea and is dehydrated.
Look out for watery stools with or without vomiting, diarrhoea lasting longer than two weeks, sunken eyes, and restlessness.
The child may be lethargic or unconscious.
Symptoms of dehydration in children include: passing little urine, a dry mouth, a dry tongue and lips, fewer tears when crying, sunken eyes, weakness, and being irritable or lethargic.
Symptoms of severe dehydration include: drowsiness, pale or mottled skin, cold hands or feet, very few wet nappies and fast, shallow breathing.
Children with diarrhoea should not be made to wait at the clinic, instead they need medical attention immediately. Once at the clinic, they need to be fast-tracked for treatment as waiting could be fatal.
Frequent hand-washing with soap and water is highly effective in preventing the spread of diarrhoea as well as respiratory infections.
sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za
Cape Argus