The growing cases of malaria in Pakistan are turning out to be grave concern as the country stands in a 3rd category of EMR, which is contributing 95 percent of the total burden in world of Anopheles-mosquito born disease.
Malaria has more mortality rate than of dengue in the country due to weak management of the disease, while the alarming situation is yet to attract the attention of relevant health officials. Some 20,000 cases were only detected in Punjab in 2010 in its four districts, i-e; Rajanpur, Layya, Muzaffargarh and DG khan that is a subject of grave concern.
Malaria cases are more endemic in FATA, Balochistan then in Sindh, but despite the preventive measures and campaigns the disease is continue to spread. Anopheles mosquito is prime female specie giving birth to this disease, which could be prevented if we did'nt allow it to breed.
In 2010, 4.7 million cases were screened in Pakistan while only 1, 25,000 cases were detected in 2009. Moreover, 50,000 malaria cases were reported from flood affected areas. Experts believed that certain factors including changing environment, natural and man-made disasters and weak health systems as core hurdles in subsiding the disease. "There should be a quality assured diagnosis and a prompt effective treatment for proper elimination of the malaria menace," they said.
Naheed Jamali, Director Malaria Control Programme Sindh, admitted the concentration was not being paid to the problem, as it should have been. Sindh has low number of cases in Malaria, which would further be curbed in the near future through collective efforts with medical professionals, governmental officials and pharma industries.