Malaria scourge still a reality

Yet malaria is a potent disease in the hilly areas of the country, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)

The World Malaria Day is being observed in the country as elsewhere in the world today amid some disturbing realities. There was a time when inhabitants of village after village would perish due to the onslaught of malaria. Eminent novelist Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay and his contemporary novelists faithfully portrayed the dreadfulness of the disease during the early part of the past century. Credit goes to the advancement of medical science; the rapacious nature of malaria has been greatly neutralised. Yet malaria is a potent disease in the hilly areas of the country, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
It is worrying to note that 54 people died of the disease in 2014 and 2015 in the country, according to report in this newspaper yesterday. About 97,199 people were affected by it during the period. Currently, over 1.32 crore people are at risk of it. Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease of the blood caused by a parasite, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected female mosquito. Millions of people in Africa and other parts of the world suffer bouts of malaria every year. Children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the disease. 78 percent of the people who die from malaria are children under five, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.   
Scores of local and foreign tourists visit the CHT areas every year. Besides, government officers and employees have to work in the hilly districts. It is the responsibility of the government to protect them from the invasion of malaria. The people living in the hill districts, particularly those belonging to the low income group, have hardly any resistance against malaria. Their children mostly remain bare-bodied. This makes them susceptible to mosquito bites. Besides, there are impoverished people who do not have mosquito nets to shield them against the attack of mosquitoes.
For preventive measures, people should use insecticidal net since evening and cover their hands and legs with cloth while going out of home at night. Unnecessary bushes in and around houses should be cut down and unnecessary water bodies should be filled up, which are breeding places of mosquito. Quick diagnosis of the disease and its treatment are of prime importance. What is needed now is raising awareness among people about the scourge of malaria. Advocacy, communication and social mobilisation, and mosquito control programmes should to be strengthened further. Private sector, particularly the NGOs, and voluntary organisations can work with the government for eradicating mosquito menace.

 

Malaria scourge still a reality

Yet malaria is a potent disease in the hilly areas of the country, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)

The World Malaria Day is being observed in the country as elsewhere in the world today amid some disturbing realities. There was a time when inhabitants of village after village would perish due to the onslaught of malaria. Eminent novelist Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay and his contemporary novelists faithfully portrayed the dreadfulness of the disease during the early part of the past century. Credit goes to the advancement of medical science; the rapacious nature of malaria has been greatly neutralised. Yet malaria is a potent disease in the hilly areas of the country, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). It is worrying to note that 54 people died of the disease in 2014 and 2015 in the country, according to report in this newspaper yesterday. About 97,199 people were affected by it during the period. Currently, over 1.32 crore people are at risk of it. Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease of the blood caused by a parasite, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected female mosquito. Millions of people in Africa and other parts of the world suffer bouts of malaria every year. Children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the disease. 78 percent of the people who die from malaria are children under five, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Scores of local and foreign tourists visit the CHT areas every year. Besides, government officers and employees have to work in the hilly districts. It is the responsibility of the government to protect them from the invasion of malaria. The people living in the hill districts, particularly those belonging to the low income group, have hardly any resistance against malaria. Their children mostly remain bare-bodied. This makes them susceptible to mosquito bites. Besides, there are impoverished people who do not have mosquito nets to shield them against the attack of mosquitoes. For preventive measures, people should use insecticidal net since evening and cover their hands and legs with cloth while going out of home at night. Unnecessary bushes in and around houses should be cut down and unnecessary water bodies should be filled up, which are breeding places of mosquito. Quick diagnosis of the disease and its treatment are of prime importance. What is needed now is raising awareness among people about the scourge of malaria. Advocacy, communication and social mobilisation, and mosquito control programmes should to be strengthened further. Private sector, particularly the NGOs, and voluntary organisations can work with the government for eradicating mosquito menace.