South Africans are warned to be vigilant as malaria season approaches, with the Department of Health saying 66 infected people have already died between January and October this year.
Spokesperson Foster Mohale said summer marks the start of the season in SA, with higher temperatures and increased rainfall in transmission areas.
He told News24 that of the 7 400 malaria cases recorded this year in South Africa, only 17% of them were locally acquired.
“The rest were imported cases, meaning more people got infected while out of the country.”
Most of the people who were admitted to hospital had travelled to Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said around 90% of the world’s approximately 440 000 annual malaria deaths occur in Africa.
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