Online Reporter
Faith Ndlovu, Chronicle Writer
A WAVE of flu swept through Bulawayo recently with children under five being the most affected, amid reports that Mpilo Central Hospital has recorded an increase in cases of toddlers seeking treatment.
The hospital’s Clinical Director, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya, noted that in recent days there has been a spike in children suffering from respiratory diseases.
“We do not have children admitted with a specific flu bug but there appears that there is a slight increase in children suffering from respiratory diseases. It is probably a seasonal trend,” Prof Ngwenya said.
He highlighted that they were recording an increase in the number of children aged between four weeks and two months suffering from respiratory diseases.
Prof Ngwenya urged parents to be on the lookout for the signs and symptoms of the flu and seek treatment early.
“I urge parents to be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of the flu. If the children’s temperatures are high, they start sneezing and coughing, seek medical attention as soon as possible,” he said.
Prof Ngwenya said masking up at school could reduce the spread of the flu bug.
“When school children appear to be severely unwell, parents should keep them at home to prevent the spread of infection,” he said.
Prof Ngwenya said they are closely monitoring the trend of respiratory diseases in order to take preventive measures.
Local pharmacists have confirmed a surge in demand for children’s flu medication in the past three weeks.
“We have seen an increase in parents seeking medication for their children which suggests that the flu bug is indeed spreading rapidly,” said one pharmacist on condition of anonymity.
Ms Angelica Ncube said her two-year-old daughter was infected by the flu and she had to seek medication at a pharmacy.
“I could not sleep that night because my daughter’s temperature was extremely high and she was constantly sneezing and coughing. The next day, I rushed to one of the pharmacies, only to find that they were almost out of the medication. Luckily, I managed to get some just in time,” she said.
Other parents whose children were also infected by the flu, said they had resorted to home remedies.
“We are now using umsuzwana/zumbani because the flu is bad, especially for little children.
The medication we are getting from the pharmacies is failing to fully suppress the symptoms.
I have been giving my daughter a blend of ginger, honey and cinnamon and its proving to be effective,” said another parent.
In 2023, Bulawayo and other parts of the country were affected by a flu bug that saw many being hospitalised and a few dying from the flu. There were suspicions that it was Covid-19, but that was ruled out by health experts who encouraged people to mask up in congested places to prevent infection.
