Number of Malaria Cases in Afghanistan Likely Will Increase in 2007, Health Officials Say
Some health officials in Afghanistan have said that flooding, armed conflict and population displacement in the country could increase the number of malaria cases recorded this year, IRIN News reports. The number of recorded malaria cases in the country declined in 2002 after international assistance bolstered the public health system, according to IRIN News. However, more than 260,000 cases of the disease were confirmed last year in Afghanistan, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Abdulwase Ashaa, director of the national malaria control department, said the number of people diagnosed with the disease this year is expected to surpass 2006 numbers in Afghanistan's 14 high-risk provinces.
Thousands of malaria cases have been recorded in some of the country's eastern, northern and southern provinces ahead of Afghanistan's malaria season, which peaks in August and September. Almost 90% of the malaria cases in 2006 resulted from the Plasmodium vivax parasite, which often is not fatal. The remainder of the cases resulted from the P. falciparum parasite, which can be fatal.
Officials recently have commenced efforts to control the spread of the disease. Government officials have said that 2007 will be the first year that they monitor the number of deaths from malaria. Approximately 454,000 insecticide-treated nets will be distributed in 14 provinces this year, Ashaa said. Public health officials also are working on a $28 million, five-year malaria control program that aims to prevent and treat the disease. The program will receive money from the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Health officials have said that vulnerable populations and areas pose challenges to malaria control efforts. According to a 2005 report from the World Health Organization and the Afghan government, almost 30% of children in the country have anemia, which often is the result of malaria. In addition, unstable conditions in the south and southeast impede malaria control efforts. "Displaced and repatriating families are particularly vulnerable to malaria infection due to their insecure living conditions," WHO expert Najibullah Sapai said. In the Helmand province, which borders Kandahar, health officials have recorded more than 1,800 cases of malaria during the past few months and say that conflict is a significant challenge to their efforts to control the disease (IRIN News, 7/19).
