Malaria on the rise in City

KARACHI - Experts have warned the citizens to adopt precautionary measures against the outbreak of malaria in the city, as the authorities concerned have failed to carry out preventive measures to kill mosquitoes causing hundreds of new malaria cases in various parts of Sindh, including the metropolis, during last few months.

"Malaria, caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium (mosquitoes), claims more than fifty thousand deaths each year in the country mostly infants, children and pregnant women while more than 500 million malaria cases are reported every year all over the world and over one million people die of malaria annually. According to the Islamabad-based Directorate of Malaria Control (DOMC), about 130,000 cases of malaria had been confirmed in Pakistan in 2007. Malaria remains a major threat to 3.2 billion people in more than 107 countries throughout the world", they said while talking to The Nation on Saturday.

General Secretary Pakistan Medical Association (Karachi) Dr Samrina Hashmi said that government is creating awareness through print and electronic media to eradicate the disease but in fact malaria remains as a major health problem in the country.