CF Nnadozie
July 2021 – July 2024
Sponsor: European Union and Foundation Botnar
South Africa remains one of the countries in the world with the widest disparities in wealth and access to resources. The majority of the population is overburdened with poverty-related diseases (PRD) such as HIV-AIDs, tuberculosis, and diarrhoea. Despite the incidences of diarrhoea being as high as 10 per 1000 of children admitted to a tertiary hospital in South Africa, the disease has not received much research attention compared to other PRD such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Campylobacteriosis, a disease caused by Campylobacter spp., is the main cause of diarrhoea globally and in South Africa. Another critical dimension of Campylobacter infection of urgent relevance in South Africa is Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a neurological condition in which the body’s immune system incorrectly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system. Ingestion of faecal-contaminated water is a principal risk factor for Campylobacteriosis. In South African urban centres, wastewater treatment works are overloaded, resulting in the discharge of poorly treated effluents into the receiving rivers. The urban poor, children and mothers, as well as the adolescents who largely depend on rivers for recreational activities, spiritual activities such as baptism, harvesting of medicinal plants from the riverside, and fishing, are the most at risk of Campylobacteriosis. Given the link between diarrhoea, poverty, and environmental quality/ sanitation, a more integrated, systemic approach that pays attention to the multiple risk dimensions associated with Campylobacteriosis is crucial. Mapping the incidences of urban poverty, service delivery failure, as well as Campylobacteriosis, can provide policymakers with much-needed insights for comprehensive strategies to reduce the occurrence and potential risk associated with the disease in South Africa.
Last Modified: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:05:57 SAST