Health officials are investigating an abnormal increase in cases of malaria in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North Province.
Some clinics in Matabeleland North Province recorded above alert threshold cases of malaria in the first two weeks of April this year, surpassing the total number of about 80 cases recorded in March, prompting the investigation.
This was revealed by Hwange district medical officer Dr Fungayi Musinami while addressing reporters during a tour of a COVID-19 quarantine centre at Mosi-oa-Tunya school and isolation centres in Mkhosana high-density suburb. She said:
We are seeing a gradual increase of malaria cases in some of our clinics that have gone above the alert threshold for malaria. Twelve clinics have exceeded alert threshold so our teams have gone there to investigate.
Dr Musinami added that they are considering repeating indoor and outdoor residual spraying which is usually done between November and January countrywide.
Health authorities are also planning to scale up testing and treatment for malaria as well as giving education to the communities on the disease.