In 2012/13, 40 050 cases were recorded and in 2013/14 there was an increase in cases with 43 891 treated. This resulted in a slight increase in the number of deaths reported - in the province over the same period - 52 in the Metro and nine deaths in the rural areas.
Over the past five years the Western Cape Government Health has managed to reduce the number of deaths in the province due to diarrhoea disease. However, there was an increase in the cases recorded at health facilities during the past financial year.
As part of the Western Cape Government Health’s strategy to reduce the number of diarrhoea cases in the province, the department will embark on a five-month (November 2014 to March 2015) awareness and education campaign to drive home the key message of how preventative action can reduce the risk of disease.
The campaign will include radio and print advertisements, face-to-face interaction at various taxi ranks, taxi interior branding and detailed portals on MXit and social media sites.
The Western Cape Government Health appeals to parents and caregivers to take special care of their children who are prone to this disease during the upcoming Diarrhoea Disease Season (DD Season).
The DD Season is between November and May when there is an increase in acute diarrhoea cases due to the warm summer months. However, diarrhoea cases are also reported throughout the year.
"The Department’s interventions have managed to keep deaths relatively low, but we need communities to work with us. It is not necessary to lose the life of child to diarrhoea if we are aware of the symptoms, and keep a suffering child hydrated,” says the Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha.
“We will continue to drive our interventions, which have demonstrated to achieve results."
The department has introduced a number of interventions to bring down deaths resulting from diarrhoea in the province.
A multi-sectoral team meets weekly during the diarrhoea season and they drive activities including training staff in effective clinical methods. They also focus on hotspot areas checking water quality, toilets and general sanitation in these areas and also conducting outreach activities visiting households to manage the problem.
All Western Cape Government Health facilities also have Oral Rehydration Treatment (ORT) corners or rooms. Mothers and caregivers are urged to visit these areas for information about the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea, and also how to make and use the sugar-salt solution (SSS) when their children show early signs of diarrhoea.
However, the role parents and caregivers need to play in preventing their children from catching diarrhoea disease are crucial.
Hand washing
Since the introduction of the hand washing campaign in the Western Cape, the Department has recorded a remarkable decrease in diarrhoeal disease hospital deaths in children under 5 years old.
Hand washing as a regular hygiene routine can play a significant role in the prevention of disease, and in the Western Cape’s goal of reaching the Millennium Development Goals, since 80% of germs are spread from our hands.
Diarrhoea can be prevented by:
- improving access to clean water and safe sanitation
- promoting education about hygiene
- improving weaning practices
- immunising all children, especially against measles
- keeping food and water clean
- washing hands with soap (the baby's hands too) before touching food
- practising the sanitary disposal of stools.
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