Protect children against malaria during the rainy season
Parents have been advised to ensure that children sleep under insecticide treated nets to prevent mosquito bites, particularly during the rainy season, which is often the peak period for malaria infection.
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The Case Management Focal Person for the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Akosua Gyasi, also asked that children should be fully clothed during bedtime while closing doors and windows in homes to prevent mosquitoes from entering the rooms.
Dr Gyasi, who was speaking in a telephone interview with the Junior Graphic, pointed out that malaria cases increased from July to October every year because of the rainfall patterns, stressing that “this affects transmission of malaria since there are lots of stagnant water, which serve as breeding places for mosquitoes.”
Dr Gyasi said when parents notice that their children had begun showing signs of malaria, such as feverish conditions, they should immediately take the children to the nearest health facility to be tested for malaria and if the test came out positive, malaria drugs should be administered to the child.
“A child who has not been tested for malaria with the test showing a positive infection should not be given malaria drugs,” she added.
Dr Gyasi said the NMCP in its bid to reduce malaria cases in the Upper East and Upper West regions, during the rainy season has started the distribution of malaria drugs to children between three months to 59 months old in the two regions.
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She said under this intervention known as Seasonal Malaria Chemo Prevention, which started in 2015 and was usually undertaken from July to October each year, children from the Upper East and Upper West regions were given the drugs known as Sulphurdoxine-Pyremethamine plus Amodiaquine (SP-AQ), free of charge because those regions often recorded higher cases of malaria infections than the other regions.
Dr Gyasi further said under the programme, trained volunteers visited homes to register the children, gave them the malaria drugs and ensured that they took the medications in their presence to avoid any infections.
