Communities ravaged by the recent floods throughout Limpopo are facing another problem, with a noticeable increase in mosquitoes raising fears about getting sick, write Israel Nkuna and Judas Sekwela for Health-e News.
The malaria-endemic region is a breeding ground for mosquitoes during the hot, rainy season from September to May. But this year, the buzz has been particularly relentless.
“It’s the worst it’s been in three decades,” says Muxe Ngobeni (34), a resident of Khakhala.
Earlier this month the Limpopo Department of Health warned of a rise in malaria cases, while experts noted a significant increase of breeding sites for malaria-carrying mosquitoes, “placing millions of people at increased risk and raising concern about a potential surge … in the coming months”.
The disease has already killed four people in the province this year.
The department said it was “intensifying its preventative efforts”, but locals told Health-e News they’re forced to come up with their own preventative measures.
Desperate to prevent the bites, they buy mosquito repellent, burn empty egg boxes, and burn mosquito coils.
“We use a fan, and we pour engine oil inside the pit toilet because it makes it difficult for mosquitoes to breed or lay eggs,” Ngobeni said.
Another resident from Siyandhani village, Leonard Nkuna, said: “There’s a big problem in my area. I’m using mosquito coils and some traditional methods like burning dried herbs. We also burn toilet paper, cardboard, egg trays or coffee,” while someone else said that the coils he was buying were no longer enough to repel the insects.
But while informal methods may help in the short term, they are not scientifically proven mosquito-repellents. They may also cause unintended harm by releasing toxic smoke, warned Dr Taneshka Kruger, Project Manager of the University of Pretoria Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control.
Indoor residual spraying campaign
The annual Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) campaign, which involves drenching the inner walls of houses with insecticides, is a key prevention strategy, targeting 1.1m households.
Although Limpopo Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said earlier last month that teams were behind schedule at 48% because of the disruptive rains, the campaign has since reached the 70% threshold, and will continue through March.
“This is good because cases are going to start escalating. Transmission may still be high four to eight weeks after the rain subsides,” noted Kruger.
“With conditions being favourable after the floods, it extends the malaria transmission period beyond the normal peak period.”
Currently, two malaria vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation are being rolled out in high-burden countries, but these are not part of the national immunisation schedule because South Africa is a moderate-transmission country.
As a malaria-endemic country, South Africa recorded 3 900 cases in 2025 and 31 deaths. In Limpopo since 1 April 2025, 838 people contracted malaria, and four people died from the disease.
Numbers have so far remained below outbreak thresholds, fluctuating between 17 and 36 (since the heavy rains stopped), but officials say the situation could change as floodwaters begin to recede.
Health officials said they were also keeping a close eye on Mpumalanga, “particularly Bushbuckridge and Nkomazi, due to their endemic malaria transmission and similar ecological conditions to affected areas in Limpopo”, said National Health spokesperson Foster Mohale.
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