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Ministry of Health and Wellness recently launched a campaign themed “hashtag” Beat diarrhoea-promote hygiene as one of the efforts geared towards the prevention and control of diarrhoea outbreak that the country is currently experiencing.

The launch coincided with the commemoration of Global Hand Washing Day, a day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding on the importance of hand-washing with soap as an effective and affordable way to preventing diseases. The day was aimed at encouraging the promotion of healthy living among communities and empowering them to assume responsibility for their own health.

When addressing residents of Mogoditshane recently, the Minister of Health and Wellness Honourable Dr Alfred Madigele was quoted as saying that the commemoration this year takes place when we are in the middle of a Diarrhoea outbreak, hence our decision to use it to launch a campaign aimed at strengthening community action to control the spread of the diarrhoea. He continued to say that to date, “my Ministry has registered over 27 000 cases and 31 deaths since the outbreak started in September.”

For his part the Acting Director in the Department of Health Services Dr Mareko Ramotsababa informed the audience that the Ministry has observed and registered an abnormally high increase of diarrhoea cases in children under-five years across the country from the beginning of September 2018. He said that the current diarrhoea outbreak is caused by Rotavirus and spreads mainly through person to person by faecal routine. Dr Ramotsababa added that the virus is taken in by mouth from contact with food, drinks or objects such as toys that have been contaminated by stool of an infected person. Read more...