00:01Pumalanga is one of three provinces in South Africa's so-called malaria belt.
00:07The region is experiencing changing rain patterns and rising temperatures that favor mosquito breeding.
00:13As a result, malaria cases have exploded, forcing disease control teams into action.
00:20Today, they are spraying anti-mosquito insect site in Polina Mlongo's house.
00:29So that man was not beaten by mosquitoes while here.
00:34He was at work somewhere.
00:38And the problem is that it took a while to detect that it was indeed malaria.
00:44Because of that, it got a bit severe.
00:48But he recovered.
00:54Malaria cases in Pumalanga jumped four-fold in January compared with a year earlier, according to the National Institute for
01:02Communicable Diseases.
01:04The absurd jeopardizes South Africa's goal of eliminating the disease by 2029.
01:12It is very painful to see someone dying of something that is preventable and again curable.
01:19So we are requesting our public to utilize our health facilities to get treated if they are malaria positive.
01:29Experts blamed the jump in cases on extreme weather in Southern Africa.
01:33Flood hit Mozambique recorded more than 1.3 million cases in the first six weeks of the year, up 55
01:42% alongside dozens of deaths.
01:45This issue of climate change is a complex thing to deal with because honestly, when you plan as department or
01:53as a program,
01:54you need to be able to anticipate that will be coming on your way for you to plan properly.
02:02But with climate change, I think you cannot come and say, expect this, because everything is just unfolding.
02:12For health officials, the shifting weather patterns are forcing a riffing of malaria planning beyond traditional hot spots and seasons.
Comments