LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Sept 27: Dozens of Jamrud residents, including women and children, were admitted to the hospital after an outbreak of malaria in many parts of the tehsil, sources said.

The areas which have been hit severely by the epidemic are Ali Masjid and Lala Cheena where, according to local residents, almost every house has been affected by the parasitic disease.

A resident of the Ali Masjid area, Nisar Khan, told Dawn that the intensity of the disease could be gauged from the fact that almost every patient from their area is prescribed malaria medicines by the doctors of the Jamrud Civil Hospital without any medical test.

He alleged that spraying of anti-malaria medicine had not been carried out in the entire Jamrud tehsil in the last four years. He said that most of the anti-malarial medicines, which were supposed to be provided free to the patients, were being sold in the open market.

Hospital sources in Jamrud said the health department had at least 65 malaria supervisors but a majority of them were drawing their salaries without attending to their duties.

Nisar Khan alleged that no action had been taken by the health department officials despite several complaints. Local authorities have now ordered that the supervisors be dispatched to the affected areas.