With dengue cases on the decline, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has assured that measures are being undertaken to prevent the infection of other vector-borne diseases such as Malaria on the low.
Dr Anthony made the disclosure while speaking with media operatives on the sidelines of an event held at the Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown on Wednesday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Malaria is a serious infection and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito that feeds on humans. People who are infected with this disease are typically sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness.
“Generally, where we see malaria cases, it’s more in Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine…we haven’t noted any kind of drastic increase because we have been distributing bed nets and things like that to those communities,” the minister explained.
In addition to the distribution of bed nets, a continuous training programme is being rolled out to tackle malaria in remote mining communities in Guyana.
Miners, the minister explained, are identified to receive training to conduct malaria-rapid tests, so that they can be able to detect cases in a mining camp.
“We also give them medication and train them how to dispense the medication. And so, if you get diagnosed with let’s say vivax malaria, then there are these types of medication and on the envelope itself, it has how you should use the meds, morning, afternoon, and so forth,” he added.
Meanwhile, with the constant fogging exercises being conducted by the ministry’s Vector Control Services, there has been a substantial decline in the mosquito population which corresponds with the decline in dengue cases locally.