KNP cautions public on malaria prevention

Date: 19 May 2017 By: Andries van Zyl

The management of the Kruger National Park (KNP) have advised visitors to the park to take precautionary measures against malaria before visiting the park, although the park is classified as a low risk area.

Due to the heavy rain received this year, there are pools of water in abundance everywhere and the KNP warned that they are experiencing malaria cases especially in the northern part of the park.

 “Malaria seems to be on the brink of an outbreak lately even though we are in winter now with some of the country’s provinces reporting hundreds of people who have been admitted and tested positive for the disease in hospitals. We therefore would like to advise visitors to take the necessary precautions which include the use of prophylaxes and vaccinations in consultation with their doctors to prevent the possibility of contracting malaria as the Kruger National Park is known to be one of the malaria endemic areas in this country,” said Mr William Masaba, SANParks Acting Head of Communications, in a press release.

The park said that the chances of contracting malaria can be minimized by using repellents on the skin, keeping the gauze door and windows close and also ensuring these are not broken, as well as spraying the inside of the hut or bungalow with insecticide. “Although malaria can be contracted at any time of the year, the malaria season in this country is October to April, with March and April the highest risk period. However, this year it seems to be slightly different. With winter approaching, mosquitoes which are carriers of the parasite causing malaria, should begin to hibernate and the situation shall possibly improve,” Mabasa said.

Mabasa said that there are medical doctors permanently based in Skukuza, NKP’s main camp and the public can also consult them for information and advice prior to their visit to the park on telephone number +27 13 735 5638.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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