Huambo - Health minister Silvia Lutucuta said Thursday that she was concerned about the epidemiological situation of meningitis in the central Huambo Province, after 24 cases, most of them serious, were diagnosed last August.
Data from the local health office showed that, between January and June this year, 151 cases of meningitis were diagnosed, 81 of which resulted in death.
The minister, who is in this region of the Central Plateau with the aim of assessing the functioning of the health sector, focusing on the areas of paediatrics, pharmacy and laboratories, said that the province has a very high under-15 mortality rate.
“The situation is very worrying, mainly due to the fact that patients arrive at the hospital already with an advanced stage of the disease”, said the minister, who was accompanied by representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), aiming to assess clinical and in-depth cases, with a view to strengthening epidemiological safety.
Silvia Lutucuta announced the reinforcement of strategies to fight meningitis, via vaccination campaigns, as a key to preventing the disease.
She said that Huambo is currently the province that worries the health authorities the most, thus the need to increase vaccination coverage, over the next few days, with the aim of immunizing people under the age of fifteen.
She said that Huambo Province already had vaccines available to meet demand in all health units, and appealed to parents and guardians to take their children for vaccination, in order to prevent them from getting the disease.
During her two-day stay in the province, the health minister will see the operation of the local general hospital, focusing on paediatrics, clinical laboratories and microbiology, the municipal hospitals of Huambo and Caála, as well as the medicine warehouse in the Juventude neighbourhood.
Meanwhile, amongst other works, the agenda includes meetings with the heads of the different services of the Sanatorium and general hospitals, as well as the Princess Diana Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre, as well as joint hearings with the heads of these health units and the director of the provincial health office.
