— to eradicate malaria, particularly in endemic rural areas, says programme manager

MALARIA manager at the Ministry of Public Health, Trevor Thomas, said greater awareness and institutional support are needed to eradicate malaria, particularly in the endemic rural areas.

“Malaria is serious business; malaria is not just a public health concern, it is a development issue,” Thomas said at an event held on Thursday at the Bartica Regional Health Centre, to commemorate World Malaria Day 2019.

Malaria is a vector-borne disease, which means it is spread by mosquitoes. The disease is caused by microorganisms that attack the body’s systems, often resulting in death, after causing fever, vomiting, tiredness, aches and great discomfort and disability.

Region Seven, where the event was held, has been identified as one of the endemic regions for malaria, where its large mining population is susceptible to the disease.

“In 2018, we had in excess of 3,000 positive cases in (Region Seven), a mark increase form 2017, which had about 2,700 cases,” Thomas said.

However, none of the cases was recorded as fatal. Even so, Thomas shared that persons must not become complacent since the possibility of the disease becoming resistant to the current medication is not impossible.

“Any serious attempt towards addressing malaria will require a change in attitude,” he said, while underscoring that preventative measures must be the hallmark.

Regional Malaria Coordinator, Dr. Dexter Browne, providing exact figures, shared that 13,390 smears were done in the region in 2018, which found 3, 405 positive cases of malaria. This was an increase to the 2,774 cases recorded for 2017.

“These increases [were] mainly because of an awareness of testing done in region seven,” Dr. Browne affirmed, noting that “As testing was brought and people became aware in the mining districts, they appreciated that the treatment they received was better.”

The coordinator also noted that offering treatment to persons has been a challenge because of the geography of the region and how far apart the communities are. He, however, noted that the Rapid Diagnostic Testing (RDT) programme offered by the MoPH has been effective in helping to detect and subsequently treat incidences of the disease.

Through the RDT, miners and commercial shopkeepers are trained to detect if someone has a malarial infection. This programme; however, has its limitations since these volunteers are not entirely trained as the healthcare professionals are but are only trained to detect and help with the treatment of the infection.

This year, World Malaria Day is observed under the theme: “Zero malaria starts with me.”

Chief Inspector of Vector Control Services, David Williams said the annual event is a worldwide effort to raise awareness and funds for treatment and prevention of malaria. He also posited that investment and interest from the government are essential for this continued fight against malaria and the potential deaths.

General treatment and prevention of malaria are achievable, according to the inspector, who highlighted that there must be increased usage of the certified medicines and precautionary measures such as the insecticide-treated beds and hammock nets.

“The continued campaign of prevention is proving effective and saving lives but there is still a long way to go,” he said.

In 2016, Guyana had embarked on the National Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination which extends until 2020. The plan is intended to eradicate malaria within Guyana’s borders. And by its end in 2020, the success of the initiative will be assessed and a new plan, or extension of the existing plan, will be considered.

So far; however, it was reported that the World health Organisation (WHO) acknowledged that Guyana has recently succeeded in reducing the incidence of the disease by far more than the benchmark 50 per cent.