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Robin Muchetu Health and Gender Editor
FIVE people have died at Mpilo Central Hospital after presenting with a flu-like illness that has been circulating in Bulawayo and other parts of the country, with doctors ruling out fears that the outbreak is linked to a new strain of Covid-19.
More than 1 000 patients have been treated for the illness at the hospital since May, amid growing concern in communities over the severity of the infections.
In an interview, Mpilo Central Hospital Chief Medical Officer, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, said the flu bug is indeed present with more children being seen at the institution with severe symptoms that require hospitalisation.
“There is an ongoing flu that most people have caught and are going to catch. It is indeed a very nasty flu. It starts like a usual flu, then after a few days you get this terrible sore throat that produces a lot of fluid and it is very painful.
Some are not able to breathe properly, to swallow or drink much. It is also going into your lungs and you start coughing. We have recorded five deaths from this flu here at Mpilo since we started receiving patients,” said Prof Ngwenya.
He said the clinical picture on the ground reports severe cases of the flu with five deaths reported at Mpilo Central Hospital.
“There are people coming in with what is called community acquired pneumonias but we have people who have died who have been looking very healthy. The hospital attended to 85 children in May, 257 in June, 528 in July with respiratory conditions. For adults it was 38 in May, 41 in June and 50 in July. It appears to us that children are brought to the hospital while most adults may be self-treating in the home,” he said.
Prof Ngwenya urged the communities to remain vigilant.
“Communities must protect themselves, trying, like we used to do during the Covid-19 period, to avoid crowded areas, very close personal contact, and if you have symptoms, you must isolate and not go round infecting everyone until they have recovered. The wearing of masks must be done by those people who feel they are sick or they may be exposed,” he added.
Prof Ngwenya warned that failure to take any measures as a population may have negative side effects.
“This virus may spread further and change its shape, mutating to even more deadly variants. During Covid-19, it used to affect the upper airways, mainly the nose, nostrils, and this current virus appears to be going deep inside the trachea, larynx and even the lungs so people may also be in danger,” he said.
“Those people who continue to develop this serious complication of failing to breathe, having a lot of secretions at the back of the throat must seek urgent medical care because this may cause deaths by failing to breathe properly.”
He, however, said a nation-wide survey is needed to see if there is need for screening of viruses like Covid-19.
“We may need to introduce stricter controls as we watch and the epidemiological evolution of this flu,” he said.
When asked about treatment for the flu-like illness and the use of popular over-the-counter “flu packs” containing antibiotics, he said patients should not take them without medical advice, as antibiotics were not appropriate for treating viral infections.
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“The flu starts off as a normal flu, but overtime, people get a bacterial infection but they then must see a doctor and get prescribed antibiotics themselves. Sometimes after a viral infection bacteria then sets in which can actually kill you because the virus has actually weakened you. I do not encourage people buying antibiotics over the counter,” he warned.
Mr Itai Rusike, the Executive Director of the Community Working Group on Health, said the current wave of flu is a cause for concern.
“There are vulnerable groups within the population who will end up with complications and deaths from influenza including the very young, the elderly, some disabled and the chronically sick of which there are many in Zimbabwe that require more attention and protection.
“To this end we feel Zimbabweans should improve compliance with the international health regulations, (IHR, 2005, 2012) and also join South Africa and other progressive countries in contributing to the Global Influenza Surveillance
Network to better improve preparedness and effectiveness to seasonal influenza and future emerging pandemics,” he said.
Mr Rusike said Zimbabwe recently came out of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic and there was need to upgrade surveillance systems to ensure it not only confirms the absence of Covid-19 but strongly monitors the seasonal strains in circulation.
“Lessons from Covid-19 remain relevant in terms of maintaining a clean safe environment to reduce infectivity; hand washing/sanitisng, social distancing and wearing of face masks around those with flu.
Following vaccination against Covid-19 there would have been concerted efforts to ensure population protection against influenza given that there had been several seasons of severe flu in the lead up to the pandemic,” he added.
