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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
MATABELELAND South province has managed to contain cases of bronchiolitis and has only three children admitted compared to 40 cases reported last Friday, an official said yesterday.
Bronchiolitis is a common lung infection in young children and infants and causes inflammation and congestion in the small airways (bronchioles) of the lung.
Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa last week confirmed the outbreak of bronchiolitis which started in Harare.
At one time more than 240 children were admitted to Harare Children’s Hospital.
In an interview yesterday, Gwanda Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Dr Pugie Chimberengwa said they managed to treat and discharge most of the affected toddlers and are now left with three.
“Last week we experienced an upsurge in bronchiolitis reports where a total of 40 children aged below seven were admitted from February 19 to March 2.
We have managed to contain the situation as most of them have been discharged.
“We are only left with the three that we are still monitoring,” said Dr Chimberengwa.
He advised mothers to be on the alert and to present themselves at health institutions whenever they suspected their babies to have the infection.
“The condition is almost like flu but parents should get worried when body temperatures continue to rise or when babies have difficulty in eating. The condition can be treated so mothers should not panic but instead seek medical attention.”
Dr Chimberengwa said symptoms of the infection include high body temperature, coughing, difficulty in breathing and eating, dehydration and fast heartbeat among others.
Matabeleland South provincial medical director Dr Rudo Chingozore said the province had recorded an increase in acute respiratory infections (ARI) which include bronchiolitis since last December.
“I only have collective statistics for the month of January when we recorded a total of 1 303 cases of ARI, 655 moderate pneumonia and 26 severe pneumonia in the whole province. The ARI cases were up from 1 030 in December,” said Dr Chingozore.
She urged mothers to wash hands frequently before touching their babies to avoid spreading the viruses that causes bronchiolitis.
Dr Chingozore’s Matabeleland North counterpart Dr Nyasha Masuka said they had not recorded cases of bronchiolitis in the province.
“We only had one baby in Tsholotsho who was suspected to have bronchiolitis, otherwise besides that we have not received any report,” said Dr Masuka.
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