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Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System Date: 07 Nov 2008 Title: Feature: NICD strives to fight communicable diseases -------------------- While many South Africans went into a state of panic following an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in September, not many knew that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) had been dealing with similar crises successfully for years, writes Luyanda Makapela. With its long and proud history of scientific achievements, the NICD is tasked with gathering intelligence on communicable disease and providing expertise throughout the southern African region. Formed in 2002, following the amalgamation of the National Institute for Virology (NIV) and the microbiology laboratories of the former South African Institute for Medical Research (SAIMR), NICD has been giving guidance on how to manage outbreaks of disease as well as helping health facilities cope with illnesses such as respiratory and diarrhoeal disease, meningitis and HIV and AIDS. The centre regularly posts incidents of communicable diseases they are monitoring or helping to control on their website. In the last month, there have been reported cases of meningococcal disease, rubella, an outbreak of diarrhea, rabies and gnathostomiasis. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was confirmed in two patients in October 2008. The first patient was a 44-year-old man from the Northern Cape Province who was employed at an abattoir in Calvinia and developed a febrile illness with myalgia and a headache, followed by bleeding. Ross River virus was recently reported in a traveller returning to South Africa from Queensland. In another case report from the Western Cape in March, the provincial health department was alerted to the death of a laboratory-confirmed case of diphtheria. The patient, an 11-year-old boy from Michell's Plain, was admitted to Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital where he presented with a sore throat, fever, vomiting, coughing and nose bleeding. He had had these symptoms for a week. According to the NICD's Communicable Diseases Surveillance Bulletin, released in August, laboratory tests confirmed evidence of acute renal failure with hyperkalaemia. The case report highlighted the importance of high immunization coverage against diphtheria and other vaccine-preventable diseases in communities. It further recommended that official guidelines and the availability of antitoxin in the country be addressed to deal with any potential diphtheria cases. Diarrhoeal diseases, according to the NICD, remain a major health burden in many developing countries. Rotaviruses are seen as the foremost etiological agent of gastroenteritis, contributing 20 to 30 percent of childhood diarrhoeal episodes of 6 percent of all deaths among children less than five years old. Improvements in sanitation and the availability of clean water, according to the NICD's surveillance bulletin, have not decreased the rate of rotavirus diarrhea in developing countries. In 2007, the molecular epidemiology of the rotavirus strains detected in the Western Cape indicated that the rotavirus vaccines currently available in South African markets should provide adequate protection against rotavirus. Deputy Director (Microbiology) at the Institute, Dr John Frean, said the organisation played a major role in successfully serving public health through its activities in communicable disease surveillance. The NICD serves as a national resource for providing information and specialist consultancy services in communicable diseases to public health authorities, including all spheres of government, the public and international health bodies. "The organisation has so far excelled in outbreak response and management, "Dr Frean told BuaNews, adding that the Institute's achievements included identifying the cause of the recent viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak in Johannesburg. Recently, experts at the NICD were able to conclude that a new type of Arenavirus had surfaced after investigations into the death of four people in Johannesburg last month. This was an achievement as it was a complex virus to investigate. Communicable diseases, Dr Frean said, were very prevalent on the continent. Over 70 percent of the total illness burden in Africa is due to communicable disease, although many of them are readily preventable and/or treatable. He said his organisation has worked tirelessly to provide scientific support to infectious diseases. "Communicable disease control experts in the organisation are able to provide advice and investigate outbreaks, as well as a range of reference laboratories that offer diagnostic support when required," Dr Frean told BuaNews. The organisation regularly communicates with the national Health Department's communicable disease and outbreak teams together with local and provincial health authorities involved in communicable control. - BuaNews |
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