Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke
Health Buzz
AS winter temperatures plunge across Zimbabwe, a familiar pattern has begun to emerge.
There has been a gradual rise in sneezing fits, stubborn coughs and congested health facilities.
The cold season is synonymous with the flu — an ailment often dismissed as routine.
But behind the coughs and chills lies a serious public health challenge that deserves far more attention than it typically receives.
Each year, flu season arrives with silent precision. Between May and August, outpatient departments and paediatric wards across the country experience a sharp uptick in patients suffering from respiratory illnesses.
This seasonal surge is as predictable as it is perilous. Statistics show that there are around a billion cases of seasonal flu annually, including 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness. Flu causes 290 000 to 650 000 respiratory deaths annually.
Research estimates that 99 percent of deaths in children under 5 years of age with influenza-related lower respiratory tract infections are reported in low- and middle-income countries, where limited surveillance, weak health systems, and poor access to vaccines amplify the disease’s impact.
In Zimbabwe, accurate figures on seasonal influenza are difficult to come by. The country has limited data on annual flu trends, hospitalisations, or mortality linked directly to the virus. This gap sometimes leads to the underestimation of flu’s impact.
What is known, however, is that the country’s already overstretched health sector faces added pressure during the cold season.
Public health officials and medical professionals routinely observe a marked rise in cases of flu and flu-related complications during winter, particularly among vulnerable groups.
Why winter worsens the situation
The confluence of cold, dry weather and indoor crowding during winter creates ideal conditions for respiratory viruses to thrive.
Schools, public transport systems, marketplaces, and informal workplaces become key transmission hubs.
The reduced humidity of winter air can also dry out nasal passages, making people more susceptible to infection.
In addition to influenza, other respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, and even Covid-19 continue to circulate.
The overlap of symptoms — fever, fatigue, cough, body aches — makes it difficult for many patients to distinguish between conditions, which often delays care-seeking or results in inappropriate self-treatment.
Moreover, the economic pressures faced by many Zimbabwean households make it difficult to prioritise health during this season.
Staying home when unwell is not always an option, particularly for informal traders and casual workers who rely on daily earnings to survive.
As a result, sick individuals often remain mobile, unknowingly contributing to the wider spread of infection.
A return to complacency
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, health experts had hoped that heightened awareness of infection control would persist.
For a while, the widespread use of masks, hand sanitiser, and physical distancing helped to slow down the transmission of not only Covid-19 but also seasonal flu and other infections.
However, as memories of the pandemic fade, so too has public compliance with these protective behaviours.
Health professionals have observed a return to pre-pandemic habits, including poor hand hygiene and overcrowded indoor gatherings with limited ventilation.
These behaviours now threaten to reverse the progress made in respiratory disease prevention.
The home remedy dilemma
In the absence of affordable and accessible medical care, many Zimbabweans turn to home-based remedies to treat flu symptoms.
Traditional concoctions — including lemon, ginger, garlic, and eucalyptus steam inhalation — have become the first line of defence in many households.
While these practices can offer relief from mild symptoms, they are not a substitute for professional medical intervention, especially in cases involving high fever, shortness of breath, or persistent fatigue.
Delayed treatment can lead to complications such as pneumonia, particularly in children under five, the elderly, and individuals with underlying conditions such as asthma, HIV, or diabetes.
The reliance on home care is not simply a cultural preference — it is a reflection of the broader health inequities that define everyday life.
Despite all this, there is hope. One of the most effective tools in the fight against seasonal influenza is the flu vaccine.
However, the vaccine remains largely inaccessible to the Zimbabwean population. Unlike measles, tuberculosis, or polio vaccines, influenza immunisation is not part of the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
As such, vaccines are mostly available through private healthcare providers at a cost out of reach for most citizens.
In countries where seasonal vaccination is routine, high-risk populations such as healthcare workers, children, the elderly, and people with chronic conditions receive annual immunisation as part of a standard public health strategy.
The result is a measurable reduction in hospital admissions, absenteeism, and flu-related deaths.
In Zimbabwe, low vaccine coverage translates into missed opportunities to prevent illness and ease pressure on the health system during its most vulnerable period.
Experts argue that the inclusion of flu vaccines in the national immunisation strategy could drastically improve outcomes during winter, particularly for urban high-density suburbs and rural clinics where health resources are already thinly stretched.
Flu is not as dramatic as a fast-spreading epidemic, but its cumulative burden on the healthcare system, productivity, and household income is substantial.
Hospitals report increased demand for consultations, antibiotics, and hospital beds during the winter months. Paediatric units often experience congestion as more children present with flu-like symptoms, some requiring oxygen therapy or intravenous rehydration.
These demands place additional strain on nurses and doctors already grappling with resource constraints and intermittent drug supply.
Without surveillance, early warning systems, or targeted public awareness campaigns, Zimbabwe remains vulnerable to each winter’s surge in respiratory illnesses.
While structural reforms are needed, there are still immediate steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of this year’s flu season.
These include strengthening community awareness of flu symptoms, promoting early care-seeking behaviour, and encouraging non-pharmaceutical interventions such as hand washing, wearing masks in crowded settings, and isolating when ill.
Nutrition is another frontline defence. Ensuring that families, particularly those with children and elderly members, have access to nutritious foods can help strengthen the immune system and increase resistance to infection.
What is urgently needed is a shift in how influenza is framed in national discourse. Rather than being viewed as a minor inconvenience, the flu should be recognised for what it is: a serious seasonal threat with the power to overwhelm healthcare systems and deepen health inequalities.
Winter in Zimbabwe is not just a season of cold weather — it is a season of risk. The flu, while often preventable and manageable, continues to exact a toll on families, clinics, and communities.
And in a country where the health system is already spread thin, prevention is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
With proper policy support, public education, and expanded access to preventive tools like vaccines, Zimbabwe can reduce the burden of the flu and protect its most vulnerable citizens.
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