An early monsoon and increasing drug resistance spark off malaria fatalities in Assam
THE monsoon has struck Assam before
schedule, bringing flashfloods, forming
mosquito- rearing waterpools, and
killing hundreds. An unprecedented toll
in April of 240 malarial deaths in 12 districts, has sparked off a debate about the efficacy of the present drug regimen.
The Union government's righteous
anti-state government stand stems from
the fact that it had provided 100 per cent
central assistance for malaria eradication in the 7 hyperendemic northeastern
states. The state government says that
Central budget cuts are to blame.
Meanwhile, the patients number
more than 70,500. A government official points out that instead of the stipulated rate of one Primary
Health Centre (PHC) for
a population of 30,000
(20,000 in difficult terrain), 1.5 lakh people in
Assam have perforce to
share a PHC.
Drug resistance is
rocketing. According to P
N Sehgal, consultant with
the Voluntary Health
Association of India
(VHAI)"Assam, Naogaon
and Karbi Anglong have
reported drug resistance
right from 197i." V P
Sharma, director of the
Malaria Research Centre,
points out that in pockets
of the northeast the drug
resistance has reached
advanced (R-111) levels.
Director general of
health services A K Mukherjee recently
announced that the government is
reviewing the dosage of chloroquine
and primaquine, firstline anti-malaria
drugs. Mukherjee said that the rules regula-ting the use of the secondline sulphalene and pyrime-thamine are also being
relaxed.
Quinine is often used
in the treatment of drugresistant cases of falciparum. "More than 20
per cent of cases we see
are suspected to be falciparum malaria, which
causes lethal complications. Of that a few,
maybe 5 per cent, develop
symptoms of cerebral
malaria," says D C Bhatt,
executive secretary of
VHAI, Assam.
There is a medical
debate about allowing the
legal import of mefloquine, a highly potent
anti-malarial drug which is now being smuggled in.
Says Sanjoy Ghose of Urmul, a
Rajasthan-based NGo known for its antimalarial work, "The extensive use of
highly potent drugs can hasten the
development of drug-resistance even
more."
Malaria deaths
District
Deaths
Golapara
52
Sonitpur
33
Nalbari
24
Kamrup
8
Darranga
8
Nagaon
3
Golaghat
3
Bongaigaon
7
Marigaon
2
Barpeta
2
Dhemaji
3
Total
145
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.