17 Nov 2019

Good Hope District Health Management Team (DHMT) acting head, Dr Kesentseng Kemang has indicated that the diarrhoea outbreak in the area, which was discovered in August, has ebbed.

Speaking in an interview on November 13, Dr Kemang said the outbreak had affected infants under the age of five. 

He also said in September and October the team received about 368 diarrhoea cases, noting that the children were all provided with the oral dehydration mixture and the Zinc pill.

He also said they managed to roll out the medication to all 35 clinics across the Good Hope and Mmathethe sub-districts, as well as all health facilities and there was no shortage of the medication.

Dr Kemang also noted that the epidemic was seasonal, therefore they had the right measures in place to fight it, revealing that last year during the same season they recorded about 117 cases.

He said stool sample tests indicated that most of the cases were Rotavirus positive. 

He said the symptoms included severe watery diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pains. 

Dr Kemang said the main factors that aided the spread of the virus included poor hygiene and lack of water across the two sub-districts.

 He said they were working hand in hand with the office of the district commissioner and other committees to assist in remedying the situation, while other departments and Water Utilities Corporation were urged to perform tests to find out if the water from the taps was contaminated.

He also said they had a rapid response team in Good Hope, which had visited all the facilities and was monitoring all health officers and also ensuring that they was enough medication in the clinics. 

Dr Kemang advised parents to take children to health facilities if they exhibit any diarrhoea symptoms and use cups instead of feeding bottles to avoid contamination. 

He also urged the public to drink boiled water. Ends