Maun’s health facilities braced for diarrhea outbreak as floods arrive
The annual ‘coming of the water’ is a time of great excitement in Maun, when flooding from Okavango Delta seeps into river channels that run through major villages in North West, Ngami and Okavango Districts.
It is also a time when the threat of disease, especially diarrhoea, is great.
A Matron at Doctors Inn Private Hospital, Eva Lephirimile says they fully expect another outbreak, which are common and often deadly at this time of year.
“Every year without fail, every health facility in the area including us has to deal with such emergencies. Young children, especially children under five years of age, get attacked by diarrhoea and vomiting,” warned Lephirimile, speaking during a recent media tour organised by Citizen Entrepreneur Development Agency (CEDA), which helped fund the hospital in 2014.
Last November, an outbreak of diarrhoea in North West caused the death of 17 children under the age of 5 years.
The problem started after the arrival of the floods in August; by early November, District Health Management Team (DHMT) had recorded over 600 cases of the disease among children of that age.
Urging parents to take precautions, Lephirimile said they should keep a hygienic routine of regular washing of hands, utensils and keeping food and drinking water clean at all times.
“Those who get water from open surfaces have to boil it before consumption and keep it covered to avoid recontamination. Also, it is important to warm food before eating and keep the food covered and also avoid taking in spoilt food,” she advised.
Annual floods from Angola Highlands through Okavango Delta are expected to arrive in Maun as soon as next week. By Wednesday, water from Cuito and Cubango River in Angola had crossed the buffalo fence and reached Boro, less than 15 kilometres from Thamalakane River in Maun.
The two rivers connect at the Namibian and Angola border to create the Okavango River which flows into Botswana through Namibia’s Caprivi Strip.
With no outlet to sea, the river spreads through many channels that form the Okavango Delta. Some of these streams flow into Boro and Kunyere channels that feed Thamalakane.
According to Water Affairs, most of the water is absorbed into the dry and thirsty sand of Ngamiland; any excess ends up in Lake Ngami and Makgadikgadi pans.
Along the way, this water, like all other river floods, increases risks of diarrhoea due to contamination of water sources with various pathogens including bacteria, viruses and parasites.
