KARACHI: Doctors call for preventive steps against malaria
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 4: Family physicians have stressed the need for taking preventing measures against mosquitoes, particularly in the rainy season, as the number of malarial fever cases increases across the province.
Dr Aziz Khan Tank, Secretary-General of the College of Family Physicians, has said that he is in touch with the family physicians who have reported that the proportion of malarial fever increased due to recent rains.
He says the recent downpours and more rains in the coming days as forecast by the Met office may lead to further contamination of water sources. Besides, the pools of stagnant water are the ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which increase the risks of fatal diseases.
It is vital that civic agencies and other organisations should take stock of the situation in their jurisdictions and act now to avert any outspread of diseases like malaria, dengue fever and cholera.
He says massive spray of insecticides will help a lot in keeping away the world’s deadliest infectious disease, malaria, which is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium and transmitted by a bite of Anopheles mosquitoes which feed on the human blood.
He advises physicians that malaria should be treated with utmost importance and they may also prescribe medicines other than those of chloroquin-origin. At the same time, he asks the affected patients not to fall prey to quacks and report to the nearest qualified physician.
Experts say that the four harmful species of mosquitoes (Plasmodium Vivax, Malariae, Ovale and Falciparum) love to breed in storage tanks and disused utensils and bite usually between dusk and dawn.
We can prevent the deadly malaria diseases by keeping the surroundings of our homes, schools, workplaces and the entire environment clean.
Gastroenteritis patients
About 800 cases of gastroenteritis or diarrhoea were brought to the government hospitals in Karachi during the last 24 hours ending at 12 noon, says the deputy secretary of Sindh health department, Dr Shakeel A. Mullick, adding that 63 patients are admitted for comprehensive treatment.
According to details, 114 patients were rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi, 71 at Children Hospital Karachi, 112 at Qatar Hospital, Orangi, and 31 at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
