Malaria on the rise in Sindh

KARACHI: The Sindh Malaria Control Program has recorded 52,377 cases across the Sindh province from January to July 2019. Cases continue to pile day by day in different districts of the province after the recent spell of heavy rains.

According to the data released by the Malaria Control Program Sindh, 52,377 malaria cases presented across the province in 2019 till July. Most of the cases were detected from Thatta (10,191), Sujawal (4,428), Larkana (4,121), Tando Muhammad Khan (3,994), Badin (3602), Mirpurkhas (3,523), and Umerkot (3,183).

Around 1,149,875 suspected malaria cases were reported across the Sindh province from the start of the year till July 2019 out of which 52,377 tested positive for the ailment.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that spread amongst the masses shortly after the annual monsoon rains in the Sindh province. Malaria cases were commonly reported from the rural areas of the Sindh province, whereas dengue cases were generally reported from urban areas.

Up to 1,873 malaria cases were detected in Karachi in 2019 at the various microscopic centers working in the city for the treatment of malaria patients. The case count was low in Karachi, Hyderabad, and other urban cities as compared to the rural areas of the province.

However, cases were also reported from the coastal areas of Karachi as well as its slums. No deaths were reported from malaria in any of the 600 microscopic centers operating all over the province.

The number of malaria cases has significantly increased in the rural areas of Sindh in the last couple of years due to unavailability of funds, which have compelled the Sindh Malaria Control Program to suspend malaria control activities all over the province.

Director, Malaria Control Program Sindh, Dr Mahmood Iqbal, said malaria control activities had been resumed across the province after the release of the quarterly budget and the number of reported malaria cases is expected to be under control in the upcoming months.

In 2018, the Malaria Control Program Sindh had registered 109,000 positive malaria cases in the province.