Malaria is on the rise in South Africa, as insecticides become less effective and the parasite that causes the disease becomes more resistant. This comes as South Africa commemorates Malaria Week which is aimed at creating awareness about malaria and mobilising communities to participate in malaria control programmes. Research shows that almost half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria.
Co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria, Sherwin Charles says, “The current numbers and risks highlight that Malaria, is on an increasing trend. From about 2018 the great progress that we’ve made since the early 2000s had stalled and had plateaued. What we found is that there were risks that were rising that really posed real challenges- these included insecticide risks, as mosquitoes were getting used to the insecticides that we use. The second thing was that the parasite that creates the disease in our bodies started to build some resistance to current medications.”
The Department of Health urges all people travelling to and from high-malaria-risk provinces which include KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo to take the appropriate precautionary measures to prevent possible infections as the country enters malaria season.
The department’s spokesperson, Foster Mohale says more than 7400 malaria cases have been recorded since the beginning of this year.
“At least 66 deaths have been recorded during this period. All people who experience malaria-suspected symptoms, which include headache, fever, chills muscle, and joint pains are urged to visit their local health facility without delays for effective treatment if they test positive. Pregnant women and children under five years should avoid visiting malaria-endemic areas, unless they take precautionary measures.
Source: eNCA
In other news – Jeremy Renner spills beans on life-saving recovery therapy
Jeremy Renner almost had a run-in with death with his snowplow accident last January. In recovering from the deadly incident, the Marvel star shared his greatest therapy to get back on track.
Taking to Instagram, the Mission Impossible actor explained his recovery journey, “I have been exploring EVERY type of therapy since Jan 14th,” adding, “Everyday, countless hours of physical therapy, peptide injections, iv drips and pushes, stem cell and exosomes, red light / IR therapy, hyperbaric chamber 2.0 atmospheres, cold plunge, and the list goes on and on. Read more
