Staff Reporter
More than 40 babies in South Africa’s rural areas die every year as a result of an undiagnosed heart lesion or defect yet most of the deaths could be avoided, a paediatric heart specialist said.
According to the principal specialist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), Professor Stephen Brown, up to 85 percent of these heart conditions could be cured if properly diagnosed.
“Everyone assumes that they have respiratory problems when they actually have critical congenital heart disease – up to 85 percent of which is curable,” says Brown, who heads the paediatric cardiology division at the university.
To counter the problem, a team of paediatric heart specialists has been travelling to rural areas across the province since 2016 in a bid to diagnose heart defects in babies early and treat them.
“We initiated an outreach programme due to the fact that some patients found it difficult to get transport to our central hospital,” says Brown.
“Since the Free State is considered rural, there are long distances to travel.
“Our concept was that we should take the service to grass-roots level to make it more convenient for the parents and caretakers.”
UFS has partnered with the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation and the Discovery Fund to help curb the deaths of children due to congenital heart disease and make the services more accessible to rural communities.
Brown says early detection of congenital heart disease makes a big difference because the first 1 000 days in a child’s life are very important.
“We see 170-250 patients on an annual basis,” he said.
“The service is obviously confined to secondary hospitals, and we started doing the Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli Hospital in Qwaqwa and the Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom.
“It has since expanded to the Dihlabeng Regional Hospital in Bethlehem and Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein.
“Since initiation in 2020, Pelonomi has seen on average 40 children per month receiving a heart sonar.
“COVID-19 has however had a major impact on our work.”
MACAH Foundation chairman Professor André Venter emphasised that the first 1 000 days in any child’s life are key to its health.
“We should do everything in our power to ensure that this 1 000-day journey is as optimal for each child, including conception, pregnancy, birth and health during the first two years of life,” said Venter.
