If prolonged power outages continue in the country, it is feared that there will be an increase in the number of malaria cases, particularly in rural areas.
Talking to The Express Tribune, an official in the Ministry of Health said the government has not made any effort to compile statistics on the number of deaths caused by malaria in the country, but according to World Health Organisation (WHO), the estimated death toll due to the disease stands at about 1500-2000 every year.
He added that during summers, people will move to open areas due to power outages where they will become even more vulnerable to mosquito bites.
“In rural areas of Balochistan, the duration of load shedding is 22 hours,” he said, making rural areas more prone to malaria cases than urban areas.
People also sleep near fields in rural parts of the country where the presence of stagnant water is breeding ground for mosquitos. He informed malaria transmission usually happens between sunset and dawn.
“Sprays are not effective in controlling the spread of malaria as they are expensive and cannot be used everywhere,” he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Assad Hafeez, director general Ministry of Health, said long hour power outages is a serious concern, but people can protect themselves by using insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
He said malaria cannot be completely eradicated from the country, however the death toll caused by it can be controlled through timely and proper treatment.
Earlier on Monday, a seminar was held by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Save the Children and WHO, at the Maternal and Child Health Centre auditorium of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. The event marked the 4th World Malaria Day and also saw the launch of the first newsletter on the issue.
In Pakistan, about 1.6 million cases of malaria are reported every year, and more then 4.6 million suspected malaria cases are screened by blood microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Tests.
Besides this, 70 million people are prescribed with anti-malaria drugs based on symptoms.
Health experts said transmission of the disease is intense among lower socio-economic groups where health care is poor and mortality rate goes unreported. They also expressed their concern over the increase in the spread of the dangerous species of malaria parasite called ‘P.falciparum’ in Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Bordering districts and agencies of Baluchistan share the maximum burden of the disease followed by the province of Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and southern districts of Punjab.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Hafeez said malaria is a leading killer of children under five; therefore effective measures have to be taken to control its spread.
Dr Shafiq Khan, senior project manager at Directorate of Malaria Control, announced that global funds have approved phase two of the 7th
and 10th malaria grant which has been increased from $21.5 million to $5.1 million.
The seminar was also attended by Dr Qudsia Uzma from Save the Children, representatives of national and International organisations and other health experts.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2011.
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