Robin Muchetu in Binga
BINGA District in Matabeleland North Province has recorded an increase in malaria deaths with 26 people succumbing to the disease between January and October this year compared to seven during the same period last year.
The disease burden in the district stands at 8 840 cases.
Acting District Medical Officer Dr Sibonginkosi Ncube, however, said they have intensified interventions to prevent the spread of malaria in the district.
“We have had an increase in malaria case fatalities in Binga. The figures rose from seven in 2022 to 26 in this year. We did case investigations and we found out that some of the mosquitoes were now resistant to the chemicals we used to spray last season. So we are changing that chemical now to a more efficient one. We also discovered a very effective vector which emerged in the region. So what we are doing this year is to spray 95 percent of households to ensure 95 percent of families are protected from malaria,” she said.
Dr Ncube said they have further intensified their early warning systems and were notifying community members about the spraying season that was coming.
She said pregnant women were particularly at risk of malaria infection.
“A pregnant woman is immuno compromised. Generally her immunity is low, so, in terms of malaria they get attacked more than any other person. In pregnancy malaria is very dangerous. So, you find that if not well prevented in the earliest part of pregnancy, there are high risks of miscarriages. This is the major complication that we have been facing. In the later part of the pregnancy our staff is very well capacitated in the management of malaria and we have not lost a pregnant woman to malaria,” she said.
Dr Ncube added that malaria was more problematic in Binga than in any other district of Matabeleland North Province.
“In Matabeleland North, Binga is the only district that has a high burden of the disease. To control this, in a few weeks time we will be conducting indoor residual spraying (IRS) which is our major intervention and we will spray across the district. This time we are using a very powerful chemical that lasts for the duration of one year. As long as people will be sleeping indoors they will be protected against malaria,” she said.
Besides IRS Dr Ncube said they were also doing laviciding.
“In laviciding we empty the pools that mosquitoes can breed in. Then there is case management, if you present with malaria we treat you,” she said.
Turning to community health workers, Dr Ncube said they were at the fore-front of educating communities on the disease and managing cases in Binga.
“In Binga we depend mainly on community health workers because if you look at our trends in malaria, most of the cases are handled by community health workers who play a very critical role. They are managing the cases at a local level or they are the referral system that refers the patient from community to facility level. So they do play a critical role,” she said.
Dr Ncube encouraged cooperation in the management of malaria saying community members should allow health workers to spray their homes when they conduct IRS in the coming weeks as a means to protect them from being bitten by mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite.
Malaria cases have been reported at Siansundu Clinic and the nurse in charge at the clinic Mr Gideon Muzamba said they have trained health workers who were assisting them in keeping the communities alert.
“We have 43 village health workers who are trained in malaria case management. They are the first port of call in the community. We unfortunately had deaths too in the communities where people delayed to present to the health centres for unknown reasons. We have people who want to visit traditional healers first before they come to the clinic and at times it will be too late,” he said. @NyembeziMu
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