Malaria plagues Sindh yet another year

Two different mosquito-borne diseases have taken over Sindh and the lack of preparedness in dealing with both malaria and dengue, despite the red flags by health experts, has put a question mark on the provincial government’s priorities.

Despite warnings that the dirty still water, post-monsoon flooding, would become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and cause an upsurge in infections, it seems that the provincial government has been caught off-guard. Resultantly, this year the number of malaria cases has increased two-fold as more than 261,000 infections have been reported across Sindh so far - in contrast only 87,751 cases were reported in 2021.

However, Professor Dr Saeed Khan, Head of the Pathology Department at the Dow University of Health Sciences, believes these numbers will rise further in the coming weeks. “Female mosquitoes, which cause malaria, start breeding rapidly in dirty water.

This is why nearly every other person in Karachi and interior Sindh, where there is plenty of dirty water, is affected with the disease right now,” Dr Khan explained, adding that the mosquitoes were holding Sindh hostage. This is not the province’s or even Pakistan’s first rodeo with the disease, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the country amongst the most sensitive in the world with regards to malaria.

Despite this declared sensitivity and the malaria infections trend of yesteryears, as per sources privy to the matter government hospitals in Sindh have run short of beds and have now adopted an unannounced policy of not admitting malaria patients. Umair Hussain, a resident of Karachi, who recently was a victim of the mosquito-borne disease, talking about the unannounced policy, said that despite his high fever doctors at Jinnah Hospital sent him home. “They prescribed medication and that was the end of it. When my fever did not go down, I had to visit a private hospital.” Hussain’s visit to the private hospital led to a meningitis test and he was diagnosed with the disease.

“It turns out that severe malaria can cause meningitis but the government hospital did not bother to conduct the test. They did not even have the facility for it,” Hussain informed. Thousands of other patients across Sindh share Hussain’s sentiments and many who spoke to the Express Tribune felt that even though billions of rupees of taxpayer money was being provided to the province’s hospitals, the quality of healthcare was quite poor.

Dr Khan, of the Dow University of Health Sciences, opined that it was high time that mosquito disinfectant was sprayed across the province on an emergency basis to address the plight of the people. “Furthermore, Sindh’s residents should ensure that they wear full-sleeved clothes and not let any dirty water accumulate around their houses. If they feel sick, they should immediately visit the hospital as a timely diagnosis of malaria is essential and can be done through blood tests,” the professor suggested whilst talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2022.