A popular dance which has seen the likes of firefighters, footballers and even paramedics take on the craze has been heavily criticised by a health organisation in South Africa, the City Press newspaper reports.

The name of the song causing controversy is Malwedhe means illness in English. The chorus says "I have an illness of fainting".

The man behind the song, King Monada, has been under fire from Epilepsy SA, which is an organisation providing specialist services to people living with epilepsy.

City Press quotes it as saying that his song “clearly references persons with epilepsy falling down during a seizure.

"People with epilepsy are one of the most marginalised groups in South Africa as the condition is stigmatised.”

They have called for an end to the dance craze.

But the singer’s manager, Albert Makwela, argued “we never had a video put out where we acted like we were fainting. People just came up with the idea themselves,” City Press reports.

A meeting with the organisation to discuss the matter has been suggested by King Monada’s manager.