17 Sep 2015

The District Community Health nurse in Letlhakane, Mr Luke Lepodisi, says they have recorded a high number of diarrhoea cases in August in the Boteti area. He said during the week starting August 1, 21 cases were reported at Orapa hospital. 

He said most of the affected were residents of Orapa. Of the cases, seven tested positive for Rota virus.  

The following week saw a spike in diarrhoea cases at 24 in Orapa and a total district count of 30. Mr Lepodisi said all the reported cases were of children under the age of five. 

He said during the week starting August 22, 84 cases in the whole district were recorded. Orapa accounted for 42 of the cases. During the week starting August 29, a total of 106 cases for the whole district were recorded. He said the following week saw a slight decrease for the under-five at 78 cases.  

He said the disease had already claimed the lives of two children under the age of five. 

Mr Lepodisi said the District Health Management Team (DHMT) had alerted all health facilities in Boteti to guard against the spread of diarrhoea. 

He said they had advised the public to keep enough stocks of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and zinc sulphate tablets for emergencies. He pointed out that children attending their child welfare clinic were routinely issued with ORS and zinc sulphate on a monthly basis.

A rapid response team had already met to come up with interventions to curb the spread of diarrhoea. 

Mr Lepodisi advised parents to immediately rush to the nearest health facility if a child showed signs of diarrhoea. He cautioned that delaying the intervention of medical professionals could result in avoidable deaths. Ends