04 May 2014

Chief Medical Officer at Mahalapye Primary Hospital, Dr Mesfin Yimman has commended women for seeking medical assistance as soon as they find out they are pregnant. 

Speaking at a meeting of Mahalapye District Development Committee recently, Dr Yimman said pregnant women attend ante-natal clinics in large numbers,                                                                                                                                         which helps medical practitioners avoid unnecessary complications during delivery.

“For that reason we have not registered any HIV positive infants for the previous quarter. The mothers took the right medication to prevent transmission from mother to child,” he said. However, Dr Yimman expressed worry at the high rates of new infections that are being registered, saying there should be no new infections at this time, given the amount of public education that is going on. 

He added that the high rates of new infections show that people are still engaging in unprotected sex. 

Dr Yimman also raised a concern about the high number of women who have vaginal discharge problems, saying 484 cases were recorded in the last quarter. 

He encouraged people to use condoms for protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. On tuberculosis, Dr Yimman said the disease remains one of the leading causes of death for people living with HIV. 

He said men are as equally affected by TB as females, as 38 males and 37 female patients were registered this quarter. 

“TB and HIV co-exist and fuel each other with devastating effects on the patient. All TB patients must be tested for HIV and promptly put on ARVs,” he said.

Nevertheless, Dr Yimman said the hospital has been doing its best to avail vaccines for children’s immunization. 

He added that the drug availability level in the district is also satisfactory as it stands at 90 per cent. and above. Ends