Several areas near Tzaneen hit by Bilharzia outbreak

Several areas near Tzaneen in Limpopo are experiencing an outbreak of water-borne disease, Bilharzia. The parasitic infection has been detected in areas such as Nkowankowa, Khujwana and Dan villages.

More than 140 learners from Malwandla Primary School were diagnosed with the condition. The health department says the children were treated with anti-parasitic medication.

Water supply at communities such as Petanenge, Mohlaba, Sasekani and Zangoma villages is inconsistent.

There has been an increase in cases of the Bilharzia water parasite in the broader area. The hardest hit since the re-emergence of the disease are schools neighbouring the Letsitele River.

Health department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana is calling on parents to have their children tested immediately if they show symptoms.

“All these villages are actually nearby, neighboring villages to Petanenge. That means our scope of testing and screening will then increase to look at school children in those areas. But to make our lives easier and also to make the process much simpler, we call on parents and guardians to actually present their children to their nearest healthcare facilities for screening as soon as they see any symptoms or anything that raises suspicions to the effect that the children would be having Bilharzia. Because school has programmes … it might actually take a little bit of time due to resources. But it is easier to get children tested in the nearby facility,” adds Shikwambana.

Some desperate residents fetch water from rivers and streams that are contaminated.

They say that they have been without water supply for years.

“We don’t have water. It’s been a long time. People of Petanenge don’t have access to water. Contractors who were hired to fix pipe lines have not fixed the problem. It’s been years. There’s a disease that has been discovered from the school learners. They have Bilharzia. This prompted the municipality to supply us with water using the tankers,” says one resident.

“We don’t have water. When you want to cook, we wake up early in the morning, we book the water and cook. School learners are sick at Malwandla primary, they said 145 have been affected. They said they have Bilharzia. They took more samples and we haven’t got the results. We don’t have water at wards 24 in Petanenge. It’s Petanenge, mohlaba, Sasekani and Zangoma,” says another resident.

Doctors at Letaba Hospital have treated learners who tested positive with the condition recently.

Pediatrician specialist Dr Lehumo Makwela says some of the common symptoms include abdominal pain and a urinary tract infection.

“The organ that is affected the most by this parasite is the urinary tract, the bladder, the kidney and that is where you get most of the complications. We see it varies; it can cause renal failure which is the kidney not functioning the way in which it should,” says Makwela.

“It has also been associated with the development of cancer of the bladder. So, those are some of the complications. Most of the patients we see present with passing blood in the urine,” adds Dr Makwela.

Meanwhile, the Mopani District Municipality spokesperson Odas Ngobeni says they have conducted tests in the water source at Malwandla Primary School.

“The results from the water sample taken from a borehole at Malwandla Primary School came back negative, which has been our stance all along that the disease can not be from underground water or any of bulk water supply network,” says Ngobeni.

Communities have been advised to refrain from swimming in rivers or streams or consuming water suspected to be contaminated.-Reporting by Avhapfani Munyai

VIDEO | 142 learners test positive for Bilharzia in Limpopo: