Leadership (Abuja)
Lawal Saidu
17 October 2008
Malaria has killed about 401 persons in Katsina State within the last 28 days, the State Director of Public Health, Dr. Halliru Idris, confirmed in an interview with newsmen yesterday in Katsina. He said the number of deaths did not include those who might have died at home.
So far, a total number of 50,311 cases of malaria have been recorded in 28 days, Idris stated.
According to him, "malaria has become hyper-endemic in the state due to the rainy seasons, which breed more and more mosquitoes in the communities".
Dr. Idris noted that the hardest-hit areas in the state include Daura, Funtua, Ingawa, Kurfi and Bindawa towns.
The director said the state government was taking all necessary measures to control the disease, adding that, already, government had purchased N40 million worth of anti-malaria drugs for distribution to hospitals in the state.
He also said that health facility workers in the state health centres have been trained in ways of managing malaria and other epidemic-prone diseases.
Other measures taken, according to the director, include spraying of mosquito-breeding areas and the distribution of mosquito-treated nets.
Dr. Idris has appealed to people of the state to ensure a clean environment as well as take malaria-infected persons to health centres and avoid treating them with choloroquine and other ineffective anti-malaria drugs which "only prolong the illness and develop resistance".
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