KZN Calls for Best Hygienic Practices As Health Department 117 Foot and Mouth Disease Cases Recorded

• The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health recorded 117 hand, foot and mouth disease in primary schools and daycare centres
• The children who have been infected with the disease between the ages of three and 13
• The department has called on schools to prioritise hygienic practices like washing hands, sanitising and wiping surfaces and toys

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and immigration in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

KWAZULU-NATAL — The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has urged parents, primary schools and daycare centres to prioritise best hygienic practices after it recorded 117 hand, foot and mouth disease infections in the province. This was after learners at a Durban school tested positive for the disease.

Hand, foot and mouth disease in KZN

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The department's communicable disease control director Babongile Mhlongo said that parents and teachers must regularly clean surfaces and toys and go back to COVID-19 practices which involved washing hands, cleaning surfaces and avoiding contact with those who are infected. Mhlongo also said that learners at schools must be sanitised to avoid catching the disease.

What are the symptoms?

Mhlongo also advised parents of children who are presenting symptoms to take their children to a clinic or the doctor. The symptoms of the disease are flu-like, and Mhlongo said that the foot-and-mouth disease is dissimilar to the condition that affects animals.

Recently, the Department of Health in Limpopo reported three malaria cases between 2024 and 2025. The department cautioned residents to take precautions to ensure that they are not bitten by mosquitos that could carry malaria.

What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on SABC News's Facebook page shared their views on the outbreak.

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Sameera Choonara said:

"My son and hubby had this last year. We tried different fever medications and nothing worked. It went away on its own after 10 days."

Nyawedzeni Mudau said:

"Two of my kids had the disease."

Corlia Vermeulen said:

"It went through the whole eastern Free State last year before October."

Mel Boke said:

"Mzansi is under attack from humans and viruses."

Chatsworth recorded increase in COVID-19 cases in 2024

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases in December 2024. At least 25 people had been infected by the disease.

Residents were urged to take precautions after the Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre's Coronavirus Action Committee (COVAC) recorded the infections. South Africans did not believe them.

Source: Briefly News