Pretoria - In a bid to reduce the spread of illnesses, injury and unnatural deaths this winter, Gauteng Health MEC Ntombi Mekgwe, together with health workers, will today undertake a prevention campaign in Soweto.
During the door-to-door campaign, which will take place in Motsoaledi informal settlement, health workers will educate the community about the safe use of candles, paraffin, braziers, and the dangers of illegal electricity connections to prevent injuries and unnatural deaths.
Children and adults who are vulnerable to influenza - including people over the age of 65, pregnant women, persons with underlying medical conditions such as cardiac, pulmonary, chronic renal, diabetes and HIV and Aids - will be traced and immunised.
Children aged six months to six years, residents of old age homes and children aged between six months and 18 years in long-term aspirin therapy, will also be traced and immunized.
In addition to influenza, healthy children between 18 and 35 months, as well as unhealthy children with underlying medical conditions from 18 months to six years, will also receive Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV).
The vaccine is used to protect infants from diseases such as pneumonia, otitis media and meningococcal diseases.
The department said the campaign, which has seen more than 170 000 children being immunised against influenza and pneumonia, has been running in communities and health facilities since February this year.
"Pneumonia is a common illness and a major cause of death among children and the campaign aims to reduce the number of children dying from this disease," the department said.
The incidence of pneumonia in children under the age of five has shown a decrease in Gauteng from 60.2 per 1 000 in 2009 to 57.3 per 1 000 in 2011.
The department has urged parents and caregivers to take children to their nearest clinics to be vaccinated.
