Health officials in the Western Cape have raised the alarm over a noticeable increase in children presenting with severe gastro-related symptoms, warning that young children are especially vulnerable to rapid, life-threatening dehydration if treatment is delayed.
The Western Cape health department said the provinces specialist paediatric facility, the Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital, has recorded a worrying rise in cases of gastroenteritis, an illness marked by diarrhoea and vomiting, as the high-risk season takes hold.
Prof Heloise Buys, head of ambulatory and emergency services at the hospital, said gastroenteritis is among the most common reasons children are admitted during this time of the year.
