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Flawed data collection raises doubts over malaria control programme
Raghava M
The Hindu
Experts say infections could be five times higher than the official figures
Flawed method of data collection has raised doubts over the malaria control programme in Mangalore, which records highest incidence of the disease in the State.
While the official figures put the total number of malaria cases in the city in the last five months at 1,485, the community health experts said the actual figure could be five times higher than that. They said the health officials did not have an effective mechanism to record all instances of malaria.
Statistics
According to the statistics provided by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, 1,370 people were found with parasite P.vivax (Plasmodium vivax) and 12 with P.falciparum (Plasmodium falciparum) parasite among a total of 1,485 people who contracted malaria.
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Dr. Srinivas Kakkilaya, who is involved in raising awareness about prevention of malaria, disputes the official statistics. ?The actual number is five times more than what is revealed in the statistics,? he said. The official figures, he said, reflected only the detection at a few testing centres such as the one at the Corporation Building and the Wenlock Hospital. Moreover, the authorities were accepting detections made using peripheral smear examination, which was less sensitive and not including those done under the QBC (Quantitative Buffy Coat) test that were carried out in many private hospitals, he said.
Dr. Kakkilaya said the practice of collecting reports from all hospitals had been stopped now. Similarly, the mobile testing van had also stopped functioning. ?The city corporation should have been proactively involved in combating malaria. But nothing is happening,? he said. In the absence of accurate data, the experts feel, the strategies to combat the dreaded disease too could be flawed.
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Raghava M
The Hindu
Experts say infections could be five times higher than the official figures
Flawed method of data collection has raised doubts over the malaria control programme in Mangalore, which records highest incidence of the disease in the State.
While the official figures put the total number of malaria cases in the city in the last five months at 1,485, the community health experts said the actual figure could be five times higher than that. They said the health officials did not have an effective mechanism to record all instances of malaria.
Statistics
According to the statistics provided by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, 1,370 people were found with parasite P.vivax (Plasmodium vivax) and 12 with P.falciparum (Plasmodium falciparum) parasite among a total of 1,485 people who contracted malaria.
...
Dr. Srinivas Kakkilaya, who is involved in raising awareness about prevention of malaria, disputes the official statistics. ?The actual number is five times more than what is revealed in the statistics,? he said. The official figures, he said, reflected only the detection at a few testing centres such as the one at the Corporation Building and the Wenlock Hospital. Moreover, the authorities were accepting detections made using peripheral smear examination, which was less sensitive and not including those done under the QBC (Quantitative Buffy Coat) test that were carried out in many private hospitals, he said.
Dr. Kakkilaya said the practice of collecting reports from all hospitals had been stopped now. Similarly, the mobile testing van had also stopped functioning. ?The city corporation should have been proactively involved in combating malaria. But nothing is happening,? he said. In the absence of accurate data, the experts feel, the strategies to combat the dreaded disease too could be flawed.
...
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