There has been a surge in respiratory illnesses in Stellenbosch. This was confirmed by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness on 19 February. However, the department added current evidence is not enough to indicate “that the province has entered the formal influenza season”. This season is only set to begin in week 20 of the year, which is around mid-May, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
One of the first notable cluster outbreaks in town was reported at Paul Roos Gymnasium (PRG). “The first signs were guys with body aches, headaches, fatigue, coughing, and even nausea. That’s when we realised there was something in the air,” said Rian Wolfaardt, a strength and conditioning coach responsible for the physical wellbeing of sportsmen at PRG. Soon after the first symptoms, during the week of 9 February, a couple of runny noses scaled into a disruptive outbreak: “The one afternoon we had six guys withdrawing right before practice, then the next day we had about 20 guys withdrawing, and yesterday we had about another 20 guys withdrawing.”
Wolfaardt said that parents at the school were initially concerned it could be Covid-19, but tests disproved this. “All of the swabs we have taken this month [February] have tested positive for Influenza A,” said Dr Tinus van Zijl, a general practitioner in central Stellenbosch. He and doctors alike are seeing an outbreak of Influenza A among high school learners and university students. Dr Van Zijl suspects that this wave was brought over by the influx of European tourists exchanging their winters for a South African summer.
Charlotte Seynhaeve, a first-year BA (Law) student at Stellenbosch University, reports how she and most of her friends have recently fallen ill with symptoms such as a wet cough, body aches, shivering, fever, and sore throat. She also noted that neither she nor anyone she knows get the annual influenza vaccine.
Unlike bacterial infections, viral infections like influenza cannot be treated by antibiotics. Therefore, doctors “treat” them by prescribing symptomatic relief medications. Medical professionals and the health department alike continue to emphasise the importance of routine vaccinations to prevent outbreaks like these from becoming disruptive.
