For many South Africans, malaria is still seen as a distant risk, only associated with trips to the Kruger or rural parts of the country, and is widely assumed to be confined to the Lowveld or border regions such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga. However, recent developments show why that perception may be putting Gauteng residents at risk.
In the first three months of 2026 alone, the Gauteng Department of Health recorded 414 confirmed malaria cases and 11 deaths - already exceeding the total number of fatalities recorded for the whole of 2025.
While local transmission remains rare in Gauteng, most cases are linked to travel to malaria-endemic regions such as parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga or neighbouring countries, with symptoms often appearing only days or even weeks after someone has returned home. In rare instances, infections can occur without travel when infected mosquitoes are inadvertently transported into non-endemic areas through vehicles or aircraft, a phenomenon known as "odyssean malaria."
