THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) issued a warning on Friday, 11 December, reminding people of the importance of screening for the potentially deadly disease in patients even without a travel history to a malaria area.

“Current focus on Covid-19 has led to malaria being missed,” explained Sinenhlanhla Jimoh, communications manager at NICD.

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“Early symptoms of malaria and Covid-19 are similarly non-specific – fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint pains; more severe signs and symptoms also shared between these infections, e.g. respiratory difficulties, including Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).  Unrecognised and untreated malaria can rapidly progress to severe illness with a high mortality,” she warned.

Mandatory testing

It is mandatory to check for malaria in all persons presenting with fever and ‘flu-like’ illness, if they are residents in, or have travelled within the last six weeks from a malaria risk area. Regardless of a suspected Covid-19 condition, pending Covid-19 tests or even a positive Covid-19 test, testing should be done using a rapid diagnostic test or blood smear microscopy to obtain results urgently.

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‘Taxi malaria’

However Jimoh also warned against assuming that someone who hadn’t travelled or come from a malaria area was in the clear. 

“‘Taxi malaria’ should be considered in a patient with a progressively worsening febrile illness of unknown cause even if no travel history to a malaria endemic area,” she explained.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of publication, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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