Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has appointed a task team to urgently tackle an invasion of monkeys at Durban's RK Khan Hospital, reports The Times. Motsoaledi flew to Durban to conduct a site visit at the state facility, which has long been grappling with the primates invading the hospital's kitchen and, more recently, the wards.
He said in the report that he was extremely concerned and decided to take immediate action after watching a video on social media that shows monkeys roaming freely through a ward full of patients. "The images I saw were disturbing. I just learnt this morning that the hospital was advised by some people who claim to know about monkeys not to interact with them or disturb them because they get aggressive," said Motsoaledi. "I don't accept that type of advice – that monkeys can be just left among human beings, especially sick human beings, out of fear that they will get aggressive."
Motsoaledi said nursing staff said the monkeys appeared throughout the day and sometimes interfered with patients' intravenous (IV) drips. He is quoted in the report ass aying he was concerned about the potential diseases that monkeys could carry, including TB, yellow fever and hepatitis.
The minister said the task team was made up of a Durban state vet as well as health, biodiversity and environmental experts. "We are not experts … so I brought all these experts together to find immediate solutions. "We know food has brought the monkeys into the hospital. The team will meet immediately this afternoon to find a solution. We want the NSPCA to be part of the team as well."
KZN health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said in the report: "We should accept the shortcomings of the department. That the minister is announcing a team which is bigger than just health representatives should have been our thinking earlier.
"The plans that were put in place were very short-term, including cordoning off the kitchen and making the place where the food is being kept inaccessible to monkeys, (and) has not been a complete solution. The monkeys have found other ways to go into the hospital.
"We must admit we missed out in broadening the team. We think, in retrospect, that we should have not been thinking too much about people who have other interests."
The report says during the site visit, a few monkeys were spotted dashing in and out of a ward. Their paw prints were clearly visible on the windows.
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2019-02-06-health-minister-steps-in-as-monkeys-invade-kitchen-wards-at-kzn-hospital/"]The Times report[/link]