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  • Pakistan: 2022 Malaria

    Source: https://arynews.tv/calamity-hit-sind...-rise-sharply/


    September 8, 2022
    Web Desk
    Calamity-hit Sindh fears Malaria epidemic as cases rise sharply


    Karachi: Flood-hit Sindh fears viral disease outbreak as hundreds of Malaria cases reported in multiple districts in the last few days, ARY News reported.

    According to the Health Department of Sindh a 521 malaria patients are under treatment in Thatta while 93 are admitted in Hyderabad. Jamshoro has reported 102 cases of Malaria, Tando Allahyar 103, Matiari 4 and Dadu has reported 91 cases of Malaria.

    The Health Department data shows 137 Malaria cases in Badin while Tando Muhammad Khan has reported 106. While Sindh second-biggest city has reported 92 cases of Malaria.

    Moreover, 85 Malaria patients are under treatment in Sujawal district, the Health Department told.

    Sindh is currently facing devastating floods as majority of its districts are under water from heavy rainfall or from flood water...

  • #2
    Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1711338/fo...-in-jafferabad

    Four malaria-related deaths reported in Balochistan's Jafferabad
    Saleem Shahid Published September 22, 2022 Updated about 10 hours ago

    QUETTA: Four malaria-related deaths were reported in the Usta Muhammad area of Jafferabad district on Wednesday as thousands of other people, mostly children, were suffering from malaria, diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases in all the four districts of Nasirabad division.

    The Commander of 12 Corps, Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor, visited Usta Muhammad along with the chief secretary and other officials in view of the grim situation in the area...

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    • #3
      Source: https://www.business-standard.com/ar...0900275_1.html

      Pakistan may see 2.7 million malaria cases in 32 districts by Jan 2023: WHO
      The WHO warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in flood-hit Pakistan in 32 districts by January 2023
      ANI Asia
      Last Updated at October 9, 2022 13:44 IST

      The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in flood-hit Pakistan in 32 districts by January 2023.

      The organization urged international community "do a lot more" for flood-hit Pakistan. Cholera, measles and dengue outbreaks are among other diseases, reported Geo News.

      Declaring Pakistan floods as Grade 3 Emergency, WHO expressed its concern over the second wave of disease outbreaks grasping the flood-stricken areas of Pakistan, The News reported.

      WHO's representative in Pakistan Dr Palitha Mahipala said that they were expecting 2.7 million malaria cases in 32 districts by January 2023...

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      • #4
        Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/998...e-patient-dies

        Malaria claims two lives as another dengue patient dies
        By M. Waqar Bhatti
        October 09, 2022

        Malaria claimed two more lives in Sindh, raising the death toll to eight this year in the province, while dengue claimed one more life in Karachi, taking the number of deaths in the city to 39, health officials said on Saturday.

        “Two more people have died due to malaria in Sindh, one at Latif Colony Bhitshah and the other at Mirpurkhas. So far, eight people have lost their lives due to malaria in the province,” an official of the Sindh health department told The News.

        A total of 4,504 malaria cases were reported in the last 24 hours from the entire province, and the majority of the cases were reported from Hyderabad division, followed by Larkana division, while dozens of malaria cases were also reported from Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah divisions, the official said...

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        • #5
          Source: https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...em/2022-DON413


          Malaria – Pakistan

          17 October 2022

          Outbreak at a glance
          From January through August 2022, more than 3.4 million suspected cases of malaria were reported in Pakistan compared with the 2.6 million suspected cases reported in 2021. Over 170 000 cases were laboratory confirmed, with the majority reported as Plasmodium vivax. A rapid upsurge in cases was observed in Balochistan and Sindh provinces after the devastating floods in mid-June 2022, together accounting for 78% of all confirmed cases. The risk is assessed as very high considering the current flood crisis affecting the capacity of the national health system.
          Outbreak overview
          Malaria is endemic in Pakistan. Between January and August 2022, over 3.4 million suspected cases of malaria were reported in Pakistan compared with the 2.6 million reported over the course of 2021. Over 170 000 cases were laboratory confirmed, of which 77% are due to Plasmodium vivax, and 23% due to Plasmodium falciparum, which is associated with the most severe and fatal cases.
          Pakistan was hit by devastating floods in June 2022 which resulted in over 33 million people being affected, 81 districts being declared as calamity hit and the health infrastructure being badly impacted.
          A rapid upsurge in reported malaria cases was observed after the floods. In Sindh province, confirmed malaria cases in August 2022 reached 69 123 compared to 19 826 cases reported in August 2021. In Balochistan province, 41 368 confirmed cases were reported in August 2022 compared to 22 032 confirmed cases in August 2021. These two provinces together account for 78% of all reported confirmed cases in Pakistan in 2022. Reports from 62 high-burden districts indicate that additional 210 715 cases were reported in September 2022, compared to 178 657 cases reported in the same districts in August 2022.
          Epidemiology of Malaria
          Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria transmission is also possible through blood transfusion, organ transplantation, or the sharing of needles or syringes contaminated with infected blood. Malaria can also be transmitted from mother to child before or during delivery.
          There are five parasite species that cause malaria in humans, of which two of these species pose the greatest public health threat, namely Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Both parasite species are reported in Pakistan, with P. vivax representing the most predominant parasite (>80%).
          The first symptoms – fever, headache and chills – usually appear within 10–15 days after the infective mosquito bite and may be mild and difficult to recognize as malaria. Left untreated, malaria can progress to severe illness and death within a period of 24 hours.

          Public health response

          The Government of Pakistan is leading the response with support from WHO and other implementing partners. The following actions have been implemented:
          • Health needs assessment was conducted in July 2022 together with other UN agencies.
          • Implementation and strengthening of integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) activities in flood-affected districts and utilization of DHIS2 tool for daily reporting of diseases.
          • Mass distribution campaign for long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) was conducted in 13 outbreak and flood-hit districts by the provincial disaster management authority. An additional 600 000 LLINs have been handed over to health authorities in Sindh and Balochistan provinces for distribution to displaced populations in flood-affected districts.
          • Additional teams were deployed to support vector surveillance.
          • WHO provided support through coordination at multiple high-level meetings for health authorities, including enhancing liaison and coordination with provinces and partners, and the constitution of a national task force for emergency response.
          • WHO has mobilized rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and antimalarial medicines to the provinces; about 230 000 RDTs have been provided for malaria and other diseases including acute watery diarrhea, dengue, hepatitis A & E, and chikungunya.
          • WHO is supporting the development of a 6-month contingency plan for submission to the Global Fund.

          WHO risk assessment

          Malaria is one of the leading causes of illness and death in Pakistan. Intense transmission occurs mainly in districts located in regions bordering the Islamic Republic of Iran and Afghanistan and along the coastal belt in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. In addition, there is high population movement between Pakistan and its border countries (Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran), particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with over 1 million Afghani refugees. Of these, nearly 800 000 refugees live in districts officially notified as calamity hit by floods, therefore the risk of international spread of the disease cannot be ruled out.
          Over 33 million people have been affected by the floods and 81 districts have been declared as calamity hit. The health infrastructure was also damaged with rapid assessments indicating some 1543 health facilities and their contents have been damaged.
          Given the current situation in Pakistan and limited access to health facilities and insufficient healthcare workers and essential medical supplies, there is an increased risk of serious health impacts from malaria and other ongoing outbreaks including COVID-19, acute watery diarrhoea, typhoid, measles, leishmaniasis, HIV, and polio. The risk is assessed as very high considering the current flood crisis affecting the capacity of the national health system. Many challenges to response measures surfaced when some flood-affected districts reported a doubling in incidence rates, a high P. falciparum ratio, and limited stocks of emergency medicines, insecticides and supplies accompanied with a long lead time for procurement. The lack of resources to adequately scale-up precautionary vector-control measures will certainly increase the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

          WHO advice

          WHO recommends malaria prevention tools and strategies including effective vector control and the use of preventive antimalarial drugs to reduce the global burden of the disease. Also, strengthening malaria surveillance is important to identify high-risk areas or populations prone to infection, enable the monitoring of changing disease patterns, and assist in designing effective public health interventions. Continued delivery of key public health messages on reducing the risk of malaria transmission among the population represents another important tool for malaria prevention and control.
          Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduce disease severity, prevent deaths, and contribute to reducing onward malaria transmission. WHO recommends that all suspected cases of malaria be confirmed using parasite-based diagnostic testing (through either microscopy or a rapid diagnostic test). Diagnostic testing enables health providers to swiftly distinguish between malarial and non-malarial fevers, facilitating appropriate treatment.
          At this stage, case management of malaria represents a critical priority to respond to the malaria situation in Pakistan, including the availability of medicines and RDTs.
          Preventative measures to reduce malaria transmission also include the use of LLINs and indoor residual spraying (IRS). Vector control is a vital component of malaria control and elimination strategies as it is highly effective in preventing infection and reducing disease transmission. However, there is a limited number of LLINs available, and the distributed ones are not enough; also, the usage of LLIN by flood-affected people is not high. Additionally, available resources for IRS are extremely limited at this stage.
          Since October 2021, WHO also recommends the broad use of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine among children living in regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The vaccine has been shown to significantly reduce malaria, and deadly severe malaria infection, among young children.
          WHO does not recommend any general travel or trade restrictions to Pakistan based on the information available for this event.

          Further information
          Citable Reference: World Health Organization (17 October 2022). Disease Outbreak News; Malaria - Pakistan. Available at:https://www.who.int/emergencies/dise...em/2022-DON413


          See all DONs related to this event
          Read more about Malaria




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          • #6
            Source: https://minutemirror.com.pk/more-tha...n-sindh-70054/

            More than 65,000 malaria cases got registered in Southern Sindh
            By Kamran Khamiso Khawaja
            October 27, 2022
            Updated: 1 hour ago

            Malaria outbreak has wreaked havoc in southern districts of Sindh, Minute Mirror learnt on Thursday.

            As many as 65,782 confirmed malaria cases have been reported during the last two months in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin and Tando Muhammad Khan. Owing to the lack of precautionary measures by the Malaria Control program, after the recent flood in Sindh, a malaria outbreak has been reported in southern Sindh and a larger number of patients have arrived in the local hospitals but faced a host of problems due to a dearth of facilities. According to the sources the number of confirmed malaria cases in Thatta is 29,926, followed by 17,824 in Tando Muhammad Khan, 16,375 in Sujawal and 11,632 cases in District Badin during the month of September-October 2022.

            Flood-hit three provinces of Pakistan in 2022 displacing 33 million and 18 districts being declared calamity-hit and the health infrastructure crumbled badly. Several areas of the province are still accumulated by stagnant water that has triggered diseases such as Malaria, Typhoid and Gastroenteritis with no effective measures taken by the government to curb its spread...

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            • #7
              Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1717783/se...y-in-jacobabad

              Seven malaria patients die in a day in Jacobabad
              The Newspaper's Correspondent
              Published October 31, 2022 Updated about 13 hours ago

              SUKKUR: As many as seven children died of malaria in a single day (Sunday) while several hundred such patients were suffering from the disease in Jacobabad district, health workers and residents of different villages hit by the outbreak told the media.

              The malaria patients who died on Sunday were identified as Aqsa Sarki, 5 (Muno Sarki village), Saima, 12 (Dost Mohammad Bhangar village), Kamran, 2 and Ali Hassan, 3 (Manik Jamali village), Rashid Ali, 6 (Ghumman Ghunio village), Hidayatullah Khoso, 8 (Azizababad) and Latif Mirani, 7 (Dau Jahanpur)...

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