At least 150 cases of stroke are seen every month in the emergency department of Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), Mozambique's largest health unit. According to the director of the HCM Emergency Department, the cold weather may be the cause of the increase in the number of stroke cases among the young population.

Cited by RFIDino Mariano Lopes explained that the hospital needs a stroke unit, as there are three to five cases of stroke thrombosis a day. "The hospital doesn't have a stroke unit, although we are making efforts to have one, and this entails a lot of costs, material and human resources. Most patients go to intensive care where we don't have enough beds either. Our intensive care unit has 16 beds, not just for strokes, we have other critical situations that also need those beds," said the source.

According to the official, the cold weather is causing children to suffer from respiratory illnesses and there are also between two and three cases of burns a day. "What happens, the children tell us: they force the child to carry water from a place far from the bathroom and it ends up causing these problems. And also, hospitals usually have burns units, we don't have burns units at the Central Hospital."

However, the hospital's management has not revealed the number of deaths recorded as a result of strokes, but admits that it is high.

(Photo DR)