Community members from Thembalethu educated about communicable diseases
Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) from the Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM’s) Community Services Department recently held a communicable disease awareness session at Kuyasa Clinic in Thembalethu, George. Educational talks were delivered by Ms Jessica Erasmus, Mr Gcobani Tshozi and Ms Wandile Magwaza from the Wilderness region – one of the eight (8) areas served by the GRDM. A total of approximately 150 adults, who were present at clinic, including staff members, were educated during the session.
The topics discussed, include:
- Viral meningitis
- Measles
- Hepatitis
- Cholera
The district distributed pamphlets to everyone and discussed each topic in length in English and Xhosa. Cholera was especially emphasized because of the recent outbreak in Mozambique. It is important to keep abreast with what is happening in and around South Africa because people migrate all over the continent which can cause the further spread of communicable diseases.
Hand Hygiene
The main focus area of the day was good hand hygiene practises. It stays one of the central points of preventing the spreading of germs. Proper hand-wash steps were explained and demonstrated.
One of the most important personal hygiene habits that the community needs to be reminded of and educated about, is how to properly wash their hands.
During the session, it was explained how germs are transferred from one item to another, merely by touching it. A person who touches his/her food with hands which had been in contact with contaminated areas can lead to a range of illnesses. Proper hand-washing with soap and water is a simple. It is the easiest method used to get rid of disease-causing bacteria on surfaces. Hand-washing is not only important after eating, playing or any other activities, but especially before such activities too.
The district firmly believes that prevention is better than cure and by instilling a culture of good hand hygiene, the health of communities will improve.
Photographs:
001 Community members at Kuyasa Clinic educated about communicable diseases.
002 Community members at the Kuyasa Clinic in Thembalethu who were educated about communicable diseases. Ms Jessica Erasmus, Garden Route DM EHP is featured in the middle.