Published Date: 2006-04-30 00:00:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Malaria - India (Assam) (02)
Archive Number: 20060430.1254
MALARIA � INDIA (ASSAM) (02)
********************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006
From: "SATADAL DAS" <drsatdas@hotmail.com>
Source. The Statesman, Kolkata, 30 April 2006 [edited]
<http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=2&theme=&usrsess=1&id=114727>
National Anti Malaria Programme blames Assam for malaria deaths
---------------------------------------------------
As Assam reels under a virtual malaria epidemic,
with 77 deaths already reported, the Centre has
accused the state government of a lackadaisical
approach and failure to utilize a consignment of
mosquito nets it had dispatched in 2001. A senior
official in the national anti-malaria programme
told the Statesman that 5.2 lakh mosquito nets
dispatched to Assam in 2001 were not used.
Another 4.86 lakh nets which were dispatched
earlier this month by the NAMP � after the recent
malaria outbreak in the state � too remain unused in Guwahati.
A central team reached Guwahati recently and
sealed all the godowns where the nets, supplied
in 2001 and meant for distribution, were kept. No
arrangements were made for their preservation
resulting in wasteful expenditure of Rs 43 lakh,
the report of the controller and Auditor General
of India has said. The CAG report has also pulled
up other malaria sensitive states like UP, Bihar,
Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, MP and Pondicherry,
which too have ignored NAMP initiatives over the
years. � The situation would not have been so bad
in Assam had the state government acted in
advance. They failed to use mosquito nets
supplied by the Centre under the NAMP, while
people continue to die of malaria,� said the NAMP official.
However, this does not absolve the NAMP of its
responsibilities. It has been pulled up for its
failure to get rid of stocks of conventional
medicines like chloroquine which are proving
woefully inadequate for treating malaria. Even
President A P J Abdul Kalam has urged the medical
fraternity to give up use of chloroquine which
has become resistant to the _falciparum_ parasite
which causes cerebral malaria. This, he said, has
led to an increase in the number of malaria
deaths though the number of cases has come down over the years.
--
Dr. Satadal Das, M.D., D.C.P.
Consultant Microbiologist,
Peerless Hospital & B. K. Roy Research Centre,
360, Panchasayar, Kolkata- 700094, India.
<drsatdas@hotmail.com>
[The lack of appropriate control measures such as
the distribution of bed nets can explain the
present outbreak in an area with endemic,
unstable malaria transmission. It is yet unclear
if chloroquine resistance is contributing to the
increased number of fatalities. � Mod. EP]
See Also
Malaria - India (Assam) 20060420.11602005
----
Malaria, resistant - India 20050107.0047
2004
----
Malaria - India (Mumbai) 20041002.2716
Malaria - India, Myanmar: RFI 20040111.0120
2003
----
Malaria - India (Haryana) (02) 20031018.2620
Malaria - India (Haryana) 20031005.2504
Malaria - India (Kerala): request for information 20030605.1378
2002
----
Malaria - India (Assam) 20020613.4483
2001
----
Malaria - India (Assam) 20010604.1102
2000
----
Malaria - India (Uttar Pradesh) 20001017.1777
1999
----
Malaria, vivax, resistant - India (Mumbai) 19990316.0389
1996
----
Malaria - India, 1995 (5) 19960405.0652
Malaria - India, 1995 (4) 19960403.0625
Malaria - India, 1995 (3) 19960402.0619
Malaria - India, 1995 (2) 19960402.0617
Malaria - India, 1995: RFI 19960330.0590
................ep/mpp
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at
<http://www.isid.org/ProMEDMail_Premium.shtml>
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at <http://www.promedmail.org>.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-promed@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################