THE Ministry of Health and Child Care will this week embark on an awareness campaign on the new flu virus that has claimed lives as the government moves to allay fears it is a reincarnation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, Health and Child Care deputy minister Sleiman Timios Kwidini said his ministry would begin moving around conscientising the public on how to protect themselves from the virus that has been reportedly claiming lives since its outbreak a few months ago.
“The wave going around is a general flu virus and at present we are not vaccinating but would like to conscientise the public to be aware and to protect themselves. We have our team which should be starting awareness campaigns this week to remind people to prevent themselves from the flu,” Kwidini said.
Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association president Johannes Marisa said few COVID-19 tests were being done as most available kits had expired.
He added that the few tests that had been done produced negative results ruling out the fact that the current wave is related to COVID-19.
“This is ordinary flu, it kills if complications are not attended to early. It exacerbates underlying illnesses for example asthma and diabetes. It also kills those above 65 and below five,” Marisa said.
“In other age groups, people get killed mainly because they don’t pay attention to their underlying problems. People should take note of their underlying conditions and keep them under control.”
Kadoma City Council director of Health and Environmental Services Daniel Chirundu said they were recording a noticeably high incidence of flu cases in the city.
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“Generally, like all areas, we are experiencing an increase in flu cases. We are treating them symptomatically and we are encouraging people to live in well-ventilated houses and to keep warm during this cold spell,” he said.
Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said there was a need to upgrade the surveillance system to strongly monitor the seasonal strains in circulation.
“As a country with considerable health challenges and a very weak health delivery system we require strengthening of preventive measures and for the population to be in the know of mitigative measures,” he said.
He said lessons from COVID-19 remained relevant in terms of maintaining a clean safe environment to reduce infectivity which includes hand washing, social distancing and wearing of face masks around those with flu.
“Following vaccination against COVID-19 there would have been concerted efforts to ensure population protection against influenza given that there had been several seasons of severe flues in the lead up to the pandemic.
“These include case management guidelines for the seasonal flu at most providers and the plethora of pharmacies which dispense antibiotics for flu when it’s a viral and not bacterial illness. This is contributing to yet another simmering pandemic of microbial resistance,” he said.
Rusike said Zimbabweans should improve compliance with the international health regulations, (IHR, 2005, 2012) and also join South Africa and other progressive countries in contributing to the Global Influenza Surveillance Network to better improve preparedness and effectiveness to seasonal influenza and future emerging pandemics.
Public Health Adviser to the President, Agnes Mahomva, said the government had maintained its routine surveillance of flu, adding that recent ones by the Health and Child Care ministry indicated that the influenza going around is not COVID-19.
“Government is not vaccinating for the flu virus. Note that when and if vaccines are given, they are usually given before the flu season to prevent the disease. Vaccines are not given to cure the disease. People should seek medical attention soon when flu symptoms get worse to avoid complications or to get complications treated on time. This is very important especially for the elderly, the very young and those with underlying medical conditions,” she said.
Mahomva urged the public not to panic.
“They must instead step up their home flu prevention and management measures such as drinking lots of fluids and resting when one has flu,” she said, adding that good hygienic practices such as wearing a face mask if one has flu to avoid spreading the virus and covering one’s nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing were also key. Mahomva urged people to stay away from crowded places where the flu virus spreads easily.
Since the onset of the winter season, a deadly flu wave has been going round, resulting in deaths, creating worry among the public.
