Vuvuzelas don’t blow an ill wind – DoH

The DoH also reported that apart from responding to routine incidents such as minor accidents, it was encouraged by the fact that at the time of the statement no major public health incident had been encountered.

There is no evidence that vuvuzelas are responsible for disease transmission, the Department of Health has announced in response to recent articles in the media which have drawn attention to possible health risks posed by the blowing of vuvuzelas at public places such as stadia, fan parks and public viewing areas.

In a formal June 25 media statement to this effect, the DoH explained that in collaboration with partners including the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and World Health Organisation (WHO), the department had reviewed the risk posed by “this popular instrument”.

A review of the published medical and other scientific literature, it concluded, failed to reveal any articles that relate to vuvuzelas and disease transmission.