KARACHI- As many as 67,695 malaria positive cases have been recorded by Malaria Control Program Sindh across the Sindh province in 2017, while four deaths were also reported from malaria in the province last year.
According to the yearly data released by Malaria Control Program Sindh a total 67,695 malaria cases had been reported across the Sindh province in 2017. The majority of cases were reported from Thatta (14,226), Mirpurkhas (9,295) and Tharparkar (5,104). The program management also distributed the mosquito nets in 13 high-risk districts of the province to eliminate mosquito-borne disease, known as malaria while and fumigation were also carried out in high risk areas.
Director, Malaria Control Program Sindh, Dr Naheed Jamali, said malaria is a mosquito-borne disease and its outbreak took place after monsoon rains due to which thousands of people fell sick every year. She said malaria cases were common in rural areas of Sindh province as compared urban areas, while dengue cases were generally reported from urban areas.
She said only 2,408 malaria cases were detected in Karachi in 2017 at microscopic centers established in the city for treatment of malaria patients. She said number of malaria cases was low in Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban cities in compared with rural areas of the province.
She informed that four children die from malaria in Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Shikarpur and Sukkar districts, respectively. No death from malaria was reported in Karachi and Hyderabad districts last year.
Dr Jamali claimed that reporting of malaria cases had been increased in couple of years throughout the province as 197 private doctors were trained and diagnostics kits were also provided to them from malaria control program to improve reporting and eliminate malaria by 2020 from Sindh province.
She said under the malaria control program in Sindh more than 950 malaria treatment or microscopic centers were operating throughout the province both government and private, where malaria patients are treated free of cost. She said ratio of deaths from malaria had been declined in the province.
In 2016, Malaria Control Program Sindh had recorded more than 63,000 malaria positive cases.