By MIRIAM ZIMBA –
URINARY tract infections, commonly referred to as UTIs, are infections that affect the urinary system of the human body.
Speaking in an interview with Times, Ministry of Health Deputy Director of Technical Support Services Tasila Pitters explains that this condition usually presents itself in two-fold, that is, the upper UTI which is an infection that affects the upper urinary tract system – and the lower UTI, which affects the bladder and lower regions of the urinary tract.
She said the symptoms include pain when passing urine, mostly lower abdominal pain, and it mostly affects the urethra tract.
Dr Pitters explains that the symptoms assist medical practitioners in effective diagnosis of UTI and determine which part of the urinary tract is affected.
She adds that the upper UTI presents itself with symptoms such as severe backache as well as high fever.
She explained that UTIs are more common among women especially during pregnancy.
“The structure of the female have shorter urethras compared to a man, and therefore they are more prone to UTI’s,” she said.
She said children are also affected, and both male and female children suffer more or less the same effects on a one-to-one basis because of the biological make-up of children.
Dr Pitters cautioned parents and care-givers to exercise caution when bathing children to avoid having germs travelling up the urinary tract which could give rise to UTIs.
She said climatic conditions such as the hot weather also give rise to increased UTIs.
“When the weather is hot, people who do not take enough fluids tend to be more prone to UTIs; this is why water therapy is one of the ways of avoiding UTI.
“This is done through regular hydration of the body by drinking a lot of water which helps to wash out impurities in the urinary tract, through frequent urination,” she said.
She dispelled the widely accepted misconception that UTIs are spread through the use of public or shared ablution facilities.
In outlining the cause of UTIs, Dr Pitters cited the pre-disposing factors such as germs, bacteria and fungi, but she said most UTIs are bacterial infections.
She said in the treatment of UTI, the cause of the ailment has to be established as a way of ensuring that it is  eliminated.
She said although the diagnosis of UTI is done from history taking of what the patient tells the health officer, both physical and laboratory diagnosis are carried out to establish the type of UTI.
Dr Pitters said depending on the presentation of symptoms associated with UTIs some of them account for hospital admissions especially in severe cases, such as high fever, and severe pain.
She said in very extreme cases, UTIs if left untreated,  could result in septicemia, which could lead to death.