11 Jun 2018

Palapye District Health Management Team (DHMT) has registered an increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the fourth quarter of 2017/2018.

Presenting the Sub-district Development Committee report during the Palapye sub-council meeting on Thursday, district officer development, Ms Chendzimu Mokgopo said there was an increase in the number of STIs in the fourth quarter as compared to other periods.

She said 1 628 STIs were recorded in the fourth quarter compared to 1 215 in the third quarter.

In the second and first quarters, the DHMT recorded 1 360 and 1 367 respectively.

She said contact tracing has dropped to 10 per cent compared to 19.6 per cent recorded in the third quarter.

She said the DHMT was working round the clock to intensify health education on partner tracing during consultations and also planned to hold STI open days.

Ms Mokgopo further informed councillors that teenage pregnancy was still a challenge in the sub-district having recorded 13 teenage pregnancies between quarter one and three, adding that quarter three recorded the highest number of pregnancies. She said eight pregnancies for teenagers below 16 years of age were recorded.

In addition, the team recorded 106 pregnancies amongst girls between the ages of 17 and 19 in quarter four.

In quarter one, two and three, the number of pregnancies for girls between the ages of 17 and 19 was 70, 76 and 72 respectively.

She said Palapye and Lerala clinics recorded the highest teenage pregnancies. Regarding anti-retroviral therapy uptake, Ms Mokgopo said 825 patients were started on ARV treatment in 2017/2018 of which 246, 229, 125 and 225 were recorded in the first, second, third and fourth quarters.

Regarding deaths among patients on ARV treatment, she said Palapye recorded 105 deaths in 2017/2018, with the highest deaths recorded in February.

The deaths have been attributed to rising cases of pneumonia particularly during the cold season as well as renal failure. For their part, councillors appreciated the Sub-district committee report, saying it had all the information they needed to share with their communities.

However, they raised concern over teenage pregnancy cases, saying teachers and parents should work together and report cases of defilement to the relevant authorities.

They said it was disturbing for Palapye to continue recording cases of teenage pregnancy particularly amongst teenagers under the age of 16. ENDS