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How severe malaria is ravaging states

Reports from the North Western states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto as well as the Federal Capital, Abuja indicated a resurgence of malaria…

Reports from the North Western states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto as well as the Federal Capital, Abuja indicated a resurgence of malaria in these areas.

Our correspondents in these states and Abuja report that hospitals and other medical centres are being inundated with complaints about malaria fever. 

However, the Federal Ministry of Health disputes it is anywhere near an epidemic.

Hospitals, clinics and pharmaceutical stores as well as herbal medical centres say there is an increase in the number of patients that come forward with complaints about malaria fever. 

Some patients told our reporters that they resorted to herbal medication when they did not get better after taking anti-malaria drugs.

In Kano Malaria now a perennial phenomenon

Since 2016 when Kano state was hit by malaria outbreak many people have begun to describe the disease as a perennial phenomenon, especially given the severity of its resurgence in 2017.

Daily Trust gathered that the fever usually begin its attack late August through to September and to early October when mosquitoes multiply due to the existence of large bodies of stagnant waters.

Malam Yahuza Danbaba, proprietor of a patent medicine store in Tinshama of Nassarawa local government area, says the fever has become virtually an annual event.

 “Indeed sickness is bad, and this fever is becoming an annual ailment. Although we have been making good business, but I strongly believe that authorities need to do something on this,” said Danbaba.

It was also gathered that, most of the patent medicine stores have a fixed price for treatment of fever based on one’s economic status. 

According to Malama Badi’a a patent medicine store attendant cost of treatment ranges from N800 to N4500 depending on the severity of the attack.

Some residents attributed the fever attack to the poor attitude of most people to their environment and also the refusal of many people to use the free mosquito nets being distributed by the government and other non-governmental bodies.

Malam Ahmad Usman Bulama of Hotoro quarters in Nassarawa local government area of Kano state says he and all his family members were down with malaria fever.

Malam Shehu Alhasan of Yandodo village laments that he lost a five-month-old daughter to the malaria outbreak out of about six members of his family that were attacked by the fever.

“We had similar outbreak last year and a lot of people resorted to the use of herbal medication but after lot of sensitizations were made on the dangers of using such herbs many people didn’t consider the herbal option when the disease broke out this year,” Yandodo said stressing that this year’s malaria came with a difference as it defiles medications.

Medical experts have attributed the recurrence of Malaria outbreak to poor environmental hygiene and improper medications.  

Dr. Halima Adamu of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital says people see the outbreak as perennial because it usually occurs during the rainy season and most of Kano communities lacked good drainage system. She added that a waterlogged area is always a breeding site for mosquitoes that spread the malaria parasite. 

Commenting on why the parasites have become resistant to treatment, Dr. Abdullahi Kabiru, a family physician with Aminu Kano Teaching hospital said 60% to 70% of all out patients in nearly all hospitals suffer from malaria and that health officials initially treat the parasite with chloroquine.

But he said research has revealed that the best way to treat malaria is through the use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), adding that resistance usually occurs as a result of the patients’ failure to complete their dosage or improper diagnosis of the parasite attack.

Dozens treated in Kebbi 

In Kebbi State our correspondent reports there have been increasing cases of malaria outbreak as visits to many hospitals in the state capital show. This is even as the state ministry of health said it has taken every measure to see that the situation is put under control.

A Pharmacist at Hamdallah Pharmacy in Birnin Kebbi said about 60 per cent of the drugs they sell daily is malaria drugs. 

“Many of them based on the prescriptions from the hospitals come here daily to buy malaria,” he said.  

Malam El-Yakubu, who said two of his children were treated for seven days before they were discharged from Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital in Birnin Kebbi, said: “It was a traumatic period for me, the two of them were earlier treated for four days at a private hospital but when it appeared they were not getting better I had to move them to Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital where we spent another seven days before they eventually get better.”

At the malaria control centre in Birnin Kebbi a patient, Hafsat Abdullahi told Daily Trust that she had been suffering from symptoms suspected to be malaria for the past six days. 

A top official in the health ministry told our correspondent that the drainages in the state capital and other major towns were sprayed against mosquitoes to contain the fever. 

“The Ministry of Health and that of the Environment also collaborated to fight the breeding of mosquitoes by spraying the surrounding bushes and premises to curb malaria in Kebbi State.”

Kaduna residents take to herbs

In Kaduna state, many residents,  including children and adults who are currently down with malaria attack have resorted to complimenting orthodox anti-malaria drugs with herbs, which they adjudge more effective. 

Daily Trust observed that because of the long time spent in hospitals and expenses in the case of private hospital, many sick residents visit the chemist as their first point of call.

A resident, Malam Gbadamasi said for over two weeks, he had been treating malaria yet he was not getting any better. 

“I have made up my mind to go for herbs since the orthodox drugs are no longer working for me,” he said.

Another resident, Umar Faruk, told DailyTrust that his six children aged between four and one year respectively, were all diagnosed with malaria and typhoid.

 “I cannot count the number of times I have treated my children for malaria this year, yet it keeps coming back, even though they always sleep under mosquito net. 

Our reporter who visited a private hospital in Kakuri, an area in Kaduna south Local Government Area observed that out of over 50 people waiting to see the doctor, over 40 of them had complaints of malaria. 

The Director of public health in the state ministry of health, Dr. Ado Zakari, said Kaduna has a prevalence of 27percent based on the 2015 survey on malaria indices. 

Malaria claims 3 lives in Sokoto 

In Sokoto, Surveillance is said to be on-going in Mabera area where three persons reportedly died last week of malaria. Two cases of death were reported at home while a patient who was hospitalized at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, UDUTH later died same day.

“Preliminary report from the doctor who attended to the patient in UDUTH before the death of the patient queried severe malaria,” Deputy Director Public Health, Sokoto Ministry of Health Abass Mohammed said. 

He said the Ministry had received a report on cases of running fever affecting residents of Mabera area opposite Government Girls’ College in Sokoto metropolis and deployed a team of experts to the area.

When contacted, the Director General of the state Malaria Elimination Agency Alhaji Aminu Umar who had promised to speak with our correspondent, refused to answer several calls put across to him. 

In August this year, the Sokoto state government had launched a house-to-house fumigation exercise against malaria parasites and free malaria drugs to one million children in the state. The fumigation exercise, according to the state government, would be repeated after every six months.  

 The sum of N250 million was reportedly spent on the purchase of chemicals and spraying machines among others while  about 1,500 people were  recruited for the exercise to take place simultaneously in all the 23 local government areas of the state.

High prevalence in Katsina

Katsina state which falls within the Sahel belt also has high prevalence of Malaria with four out of the 34 local governments reported to have high risk areas Namely; Baure, Dutsi, Maiadua and Mashi.

In these areas about 2000 children under the age of six are said to be undergoing Seasonal Malaria Chemo-Prevention to check malaria infections and mortality. 

He said the malaria chemo-prevention in the state was being supported by a development partner, Malaria Consurtium, which supplies the anti-malaria vaccines while the state government provides the logistics and personnel to run the program.

A visit to Himma Pharmacy in Katsina Layout shows that arthermether injection used mostly in treating malaria is fast in demand. Malam Mohammed in charge of the pharmacy says out of every ten cases he treats or receives from hospitals 8 have to do with malaria.

 ’’Every fast selling drug is an anti-malarial; malaria is devastating our people’’, he said.

FG reacts

Contacted, the Head, Case Management Branch, National Malaria Elimination Programme, of the Federal Ministry of Health, Godwin Ntadom, said evidence and data obtained from health facilities have not reflected that there was increasing number of people falling ill with malaria in the country. 

He said most cases of people saying they had malaria have not been verified through tests by Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) or through the laboratory, adding that it may be awareness on malaria that was growing among the population.  

Dr Ntadom, however, said the national prevalence rate of malaria in the country showed that Kebbi State had one of the highest rates of malaria prevalence, and that states with highest prevalence rate were mostly in the northern part of the country.

Dr Ntadom said there was no drug resistance to malaria in Nigeria as findings revealed that two medicines deployed by the government for malaria were still very effective.

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