The Sunday News
Fairness Moyana, Online Reporter
MALARIA continue to wreak havoc in Hwange district with close to 2000 cases recorded so far forcing authorities to open 5 Miles Hospital for admissions to ease pressure on Lukosi Hospital.
The 5 Miles Hospital which was designated as a district hospital was now a white elephant after construction was halted as a result of structural defects that were detected later into construction.
Lukosi Hospital was failing to cope with the rate of admission forcing authorities to move patients to 5 Miles near Hwange town to create space and also ensure the safety of pregnant women at Lukosi maternity ward.
The ministry of Health and Child Care declared an outbreak of malaria following the recording of over 800 cases mostly from Change and Kamativi wards. The development saw the Civil Protection Committee convening an urgent meeting with stakeholders to gauge the scope of the problem and come up with interventions.
Speaking in a telephone interview, Hwange District Medical Officer, Dr Fungai Musinami though no deaths have been recorded, cases continued to rise from the 634 cases reported 4 weeks ago to 1 981 as of 27 March.
“The situation is still dire. We have recorded close to 2 000 cases. As part of interventions, we managed to do indoor residue spraying in most of the affected villages especially in Change. We are hoping to see some changes and benefits of spraying in the coming weeks,” said Dr Musinami.
She said in order to decongest Lukosi Hospital, patients were being admitted at 5 Miles but was quick to cite challenges associated with resources to manage the facility and growing admissions.
“We are actually at 5 Miles because Lukosi hospital was now congested by malaria cases which in turn were now affecting the maternity admissions. All our malaria admissions are now at 5 Miles however we are facing challenges mainly in the area of provision of resources such as detergents. The demand for that has risen significantly and so it was putting a strain on Lukosi especially with the maternity side. We have engaged stakeholders and some came through especially with transport provision during spraying.”
During the indoor residue spraying, traditional leaders played a critical role as they mobilised people from their respective communities to carry out the task. According to the situation report, the positivity rate stood at 40.5 percent with 4 620 cumulative tests having being done as of 27 March. So far, no pregnant women have been affected with 5 cases of uncomplicated malaria of under 5 years having been recorded.
Lukosi under Change ward continued to record the bulk of reported cases contributing 54 patients of the 66 new cases. Two wards Change and Kamativi were singled out as hotspots with Hwange urban also recording some cases. Malaria is more common during the rain season. This is because waterlogged and damp places provide suitable breeding environments for mosquitoes.
