Rainy Season: Prevent Malaria, Use Insecticide Treated Nets —-Njelita
A medical expert, Dr Chukwudi Njelita, has advised people to sleep under insecticide treated nets to protect themselves from mosquito bites and malaria.
Njelita who is the Chief Medical Director of Rock Foundation Hospital, Awka gave the advice while speaking on the likely higher incidence of malaria during the
rainy season.
Njelita said mosquitoes were the sole transmitters of malaria and that people should protect themselves from mosquito bites by all means possible.
He said rainy season usually come with accumulation water in small pools and drainages which enhanced the breeding of more female anopheles mosquitoes.
He said this will lead to increase in the chances of mosquito bites.
Njelita dismissed the insinuations that sunlight, peer, groundnut and other food cause malaria as mere speculations and ignorance as there were no scientific evidence to support them.
“Mosquito bites are responsible for the transmission of malaria parasite from person to person and this will result to higher incidence and prevalence of malaria thus season.
“The advice is that people should sleep under insecticide treated nets, those do not have it should acquire it and those who have it should use it.
“Malaria is only caused by plasmodium and this plasmodium is transmitted by only infected female anopheles mosquitoes,” he said.
Njelita said malaria was more risky for children of under five years of age and pregnant women due to their low immunity.
He said Malaria could cause Intrauterine Growth Retardation which reduces the growth and development of the baby as well as foetal death which is death of the baby inside the womb.
The medical expert said anybody who felt the symptoms of malaria should go to hospital for a timely and proper diagnosis especially, children under the age of five and pregnant women.
He said the symptoms included weakness, headache, bitter tongue , loss of appetite and muscle pain
“For under five and pregnant women, their immunity is low and there is tendency for the parasite to attack the placenta bed where the mother and the baby do exchange of materials.
“This is how dangerous malaria can be in pregnancy, we encourage mothers who become pregnant to start going for antenatal immediately and start taking intermittent preventive therapy for the first 16 weeks,” he said.
Njelita said food and fruits were no cure for malaria but could only improve one’s immunity noting that they best approach was prevention or the barriers method which was prevention from mosquito bites.
“Balanced diets and fruits can only defer malaria until you have enough bites that your immunity cannot resist and malaria will eventually manifest” he said.
