Binh Dinh is o­ne of the nine provinces reporting decreased malaria morbidity cases in the central coastal area and West Highlands, but the persistence of the disease remains a main worry.

Many worries

In the first 6 months of 2014, the number of malaria patients in Binh Dinh province decreased significantly with 94 cases, 51.79% down against the same period of last year, just behind Quang Nam province. Concretely, cases of malaria morbidity decreased in 10/11 districts except that there was 5 malaria cases recorded in Quy Nhon city, increasing 2 cases compared with the same period of last year. In despite of stable malaria situation in severely-hit areas, imported malaria continues to be of concern.

65/94 malaria cases in 9/11 districts were of imported malaria, excepting Van Canh and Vinh Thanh. The specific analysis showed that o­nly Tay Son district had 5 local malaria cases and 13 imported malaria cases, 100% of other infected cases in the remaining localities were exotic. Not o­nly occuring in plain districts, but imported malaria has been also recorded in the mountainous district An Lao, where o­nly local malaria cases were found previously.

According to the survey of the Provincial Center of Malariology and Endocrinolory of Binh Dinh, the cause of imported malaria infection in the province was that the patients who had gone to work in mountainous district and West-Highlands carried pathogens as returning home. In Quy Nhon city, workers infected malaria from Laos and Cambodia.

Dr. Ho Van Hoang, vice-director of IMPE-Quy Nhon, said that Binh Dinh hasnot been out of challenges and difficulties due to complicated malaria characteristics of central coastal area and West-Highlands. It is the large number of mobilised populations (free migrant workers, people going to the forest and sleeping in the field huts and crossing borders). "In addition, Binh Dinh is now at risk of anti-malarial drug-resistance because o­ne case of drug-resistant malaria was recorded in Gia Lai province and the people of Binh Dinh province often go to work and come back from there", he said.

Malaria control efforts

Confronted with the complicated malaria situation, from the first months of 2014, the IMPE-Quy Nhon and provincial health services have taken the initiative in strengthening control measures to decrease malaria infected cases, limit malaria deaths and prevent malaria outbreaks from occuring. Especially, Binh Dinh was the o­nly province carrying out the health communication and education right to households. In the first 6 months of this year, medical staff conducted 12,477 times of propaganda at households with 25,444 listeners.

According to Mr. Hoang Xuan Thuan, director of the Provincial Centre of Malariology and Endocrinology of Binh Dinh, the malaria situation in coming time is being very complex as entering rainy season. Therefore, malaria control activities need to be strengthened. "Although the budget of malaria control programme was significantly cut down, we still maintain health communication activities in the media. Besides, there will be supplementary activities such as posters and leaflets delivery at the peak of malaria transmission. In next September, we will carry out malaria survey in severely-hit areas", he said.

Taking blood slides to detect malaria parasites at My Hoa commune, Phu My district.

In addition, malaria control activities are attached special importance at localities having high rate of local malaria infection. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Ngo, director of district health centre of Van Canh, 20 malaria cases recorded in the first 6 months of 2014 were all from mountain fields of Canh Lien commune. Recently, thousands of people have flocked to this area to pick malva nuts and a large number of labourers have stayed and slept in the field-huts. "We frequently warn the people to sleep under bednets when working in the fields. Moreover, the medical staff look for and meet these subjects to give medical examination and take their blood slides for detecting malaria parasites and treating malaria patients promptly, at the same time preventing them from spreading the disease in the community", he said.

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