The Limpopo provincial Health Department has urged communities to consult their nearest medical facilities for malaria tests if they experience flu-like symptoms such as body pains, headaches and fever.

The call comes after more than 156 cases were confirmed in the high-risk malaria areas of Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo during the first week of January 2010.

The department’s spokesperson, Mr Selby Makgotho, confirmed four deaths resulting from malaria-related complications, two at Tshilidzini and two at the Maphutha Malatji hospital during the last week of December 2009. He said during the last week of December 2009, 167 cases of malaria were recorded in Limpopo, with 156 cases being reported for the first week of January 2010.

Makgotho said the province had recorded a total of 1 120 malaria cases since the beginning of the rainy season. He said, however, that the majority of these cases were reported from the known malaria risk areas in Limpopo, namely the northeastern parts of the Vhembe district, Mutale, Malamulele and the eastern parts of Mopani in areas east of Giyani and focal areas around Ba-Phalaborwa.

He advised communities not to panic. Although a higher number of malaria cases have been reported over the past two weeks, he said the prevalence of the disease could not be regarded as an epidemic and could be contained. “We do, however, view the current increase in the prevalence of the disease in a serious light and will not spare any effort to contain the current increase and to adequately deal with those patients already infected with the malaria parasite. Systems are also in place to monitor the reported cases on a daily basis and to respond to further increases.

“In this regard, the department wishes to advise community members that all our facilities are ready and fully equipped to deal with malaria cases. It should be noted that malaria, once diagnosed in time, can be treated and cured fully.

“For this reason, we continue to urge communities to immediately consult the nearest health facility for malaria tests if they experience flu-like symptoms such as body pains, headache as well as fever,” he said

He said the department’s 42 malaria teams had been dispatched throughout the province and were busy with the malaria indoor residual spraying campaign. “This campaign, aims to spray all the inside walls of houses, in the malaria-high-risk areas, to contain the spread and transmission of malaria. In this regard, the malaria teams have completed the spraying of more than 680,000 houses during the current spraying campaign, which started in September 2009.”

The department is also busy with several campaigns at community level to create awareness about the risks of malaria to the communities, said Makgotho.