By Health Correspondent
Five people have died at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo after contracting a severe flu-like illness that has affected more than 1,000 patients since May, with health authorities ruling out fears that the outbreak is linked to a new strain of COVID-19.
Mpilo Central Hospital Chief Medical Officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya (pictured) said the illness had been particularly severe among children, as the number of patients presenting with respiratory symptoms continued to rise.
Prof Ngwenya urged members of the public to take precautions to reduce transmission, particularly as the illness continued to affect children and other vulnerable groups.
“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,” Prof Ngwenya told the media.
He warned people against self-medicating with antibiotics, stressing that patients should seek medical attention when symptoms become severe or fail to improve.
“There is an ongoing flu that most people have caught and are going to catch. It is indeed a very nasty flu… We have recorded five deaths from this flu here at Mpilo since we started receiving patients,” Prof Ngwenya told State media.
Hospital records show that 85 children were treated for respiratory illnesses in May, rising sharply to 257 in June and 528 in July.
Among adults, 38 patients were treated in May, 41 in June and 50 in July.
The figures bring the number of children and adults treated for respiratory illnesses at the hospital over the three-month period to 999, although the hospital has indicated that more than 1,000 patients have been affected by the illness since May.
Public health experts have meanwhile called for stronger surveillance to establish which respiratory viruses are circulating and to ensure hospitals are adequately prepared for severe cases.
The developments come amid increased respiratory disease activity in parts of Zimbabwe during the winter season.
Recent surveillance has also shown that influenza remains in circulation nationally. A recent health surveillance report cited by local authorities recorded 2,893 suspected influenza cases in one week, with Manicaland and Mashonaland West reporting the highest numbers. No deaths were recorded from those suspected influenza cases during the week covered by the report.
Bulawayo had also recorded influenza cases earlier in the year, with the city’s May disease surveillance report showing 70 cases.
However, health officials have sought to distinguish the current flu-like illnesses from a resurgence of COVID-19.
In February, the Ministry of Health and Child Care said influenza levels were below what would normally be expected for that period and reported about 3,000 cases nationally at the time. The ministry also sought to reassure the public that there was no cause for alarm over a suspected COVID-19 resurgence.
Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly and people living with chronic illnesses, faced the greatest risk of developing complications.
Rusike called for strengthened influenza surveillance and preparedness, saying early detection and timely treatment were critical in preventing severe disease.
The latest concerns come against the backdrop of another respiratory illness outbreak at St Faith’s High School in Makoni District, Manicaland, where more than 382 students developed flu-like symptoms from mid-July. Eight learners were hospitalised, while health authorities launched investigations to determine the cause of the outbreak.
The Ministry of Health said the illness at the school presented similarly to COVID-19 and other viral respiratory tract infections, but officials had not yet established its exact cause because of shortages of diagnostic testing kits.
Health authorities have continued to encourage the public to practise basic infection-control measures, including avoiding close contact with people who are sick, staying home when experiencing flu-like symptoms, maintaining good ventilation and seeking medical care when symptoms worsen.
The developments have renewed calls for Zimbabwe to strengthen laboratory capacity and respiratory disease surveillance so that unusual clusters can be investigated quickly and the viruses responsible can be identified.
