The use of traditional medicinal plants as antimicrobial treatments

Abstract

The scourge of microbial infectionsMicrobial infections are a major cause of morbidity and sometimes mortality, especially in developing countries such as Namibia. Severe poverty is the root cause of this undesirable situation as it leads to malnutrition, inadequate sanitation and consumption of unclean food and drink. This, compounded by lack of education and access to primary healthcare, results in infections by microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa (Table 4.1).The most vulnerable to infectious diseases caused by microbial agents are children under the age of five, where 66% of deaths in this age group are a result of such diseases; 34% of all deaths are attributed to infectious diseases. This was underscored by WHO's (World Health Organization's) Regional Director for Africa, Luis Gomes Sambo, in 2011 when he said 63% of deaths on the continent were caused by microbial infections, with HIV/AIDS accounting for 38.5% of these (Anon, 2012). Thus, the most vulnerable groups are young children and individuals whose immune systems are compromised by HIV infection (Table 4.2).Community-acquired bacteraemia is a major cause of death in children at rural sub-Saharan district hospitals. A study by Berkley et al. (2005) showed that 12.8% of infants younger than 60 days had bacteraemia. Escherichia coli and group b streptococcus were the predominant infectious agents. In those older than 60 days, 5.9% were infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella species, Haemophilus influenzae or E. coli. In Gambia, children under five years have a 2.5% risk of