Ghana has been identified as having two of the most dreadful female mosquito species which account for the scourge of malaria in the country, a medical entomologist of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Aba Baffoe-Wilmot, has said.
The two species are the Anopheles Gambiae and the Anopheles Funestus.
Significantly, she said, those two species did not breed in polluted waters and filthy places but in small collections of seepage water, rain pools that were stagnant and often muddy, potholes, foot or hoof prints, roadside ditches and on rice fields.
Dr Baffoe-Wilmot was speaking on the topic, “Counting malaria out — All hands on deck”, at a monthly health promotion meeting organised by the GHS as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day which falls on April 25, each year.
She said out of the 3,500 mosquito species in the world, about 400 were anopheles, with 40 of the anopheles being the world’s most important vectors.
She, however, noted that the Anopheles Gambiae and the Anopheles Funestus mainly bit indoors and at night.
She advised that the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets should be of importance to every individual and household.
She stated that at the moment Ghana was at the controlling phase of the fight against malaria and must aim at 80 per cent coverage of interventions before getting to the elimination stage and then to the eradication phase where it could get to the World Health Organisation (WHO) certification.
“There is the need for the government and the private sector to prioritise malaria control in resource allocation and social responsibility, respectively, because no single actor can do it alone,” she said.
Dr Baffoe-Wilmot said there should be collaboration between the public and the private sectors, individuals and households, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international partners and insurers to help support the cause to control malaria in the country.
For his part, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, Dr Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, said there was the need for more education on the devastation of malaria in the country to create adequate awareness among the citizenry.
He also advised the public to practise environmental management to help in the reduction of malaria cases in the country, since it served as an annual economic burden in Ghana and Africa as a whole.
He, therefore, called for all hands to be on deck to kick malaria out.
Malaria is caused by the plasmodium parasite and it is transmitted through the female anopheles mosquito, with simple symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, loss of appetite and severe symptoms such as severe anaemia, blood in urine, convulsion, jaundice and extreme general weakness.
No comments:
Post a Comment