FAISALABAD, Pakistan: Head Department of Community Medicine, University Medical & Dental College Faisalabad Professor Dr Zahid Masood on Tuesday said that malaria was one of the major diseases as it affect about half million people every year in Pakistan especially in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
While addressing a seminar organized by The University of Faisalabad (TUF) in Faisalabad to mark the World Malaria Day, Dr Zahid Masood said that Malaria had re-emerged as a major cause of morbidity in Pakistan.
He said unpredictable transmission patterns, low immune status of the population, climatic changes, poor socioeconomic conditions, declining health infrastructure, resource constraints, poor access to preventive and curative services, and mounting drug insecticide resistance in parasites and vectors contribute to this huge disease burden.
He said that globally after every two minutes a child dies due to malaria especially in African countries. In Pakistan 500,000 malaria cases occur annually and Sindh and Baluchistan are most affected provinces in this regard.
He said that higher morbidity and mortality are due to lack of awareness. Sri Lanka, Morocco and Turkmenistan have eliminated malaria and now incidence of infections in their countries is zero.
He said that mosquito control was the main way to reduce malaria transmission at community level.
He disclosed that WHO had launched vaccine for malaria in three African countries which include Kenya, Ghana and Malawi.
The inject-able vaccine was developed to protect young children from the most deadly form of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum.
Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM) remain the most important tools to address the health issues, he added.
Dr Asif Shahzad District Health Officer Faisalabad said that in Pakistan P-vivax was most common type of malaria parasite.
Prof Dr Abdul Haq Director ORIC, TUF also spoke on the occasion.
