Diagnosis first before medication - Malaria Expert

The Permanent Secretary of the National Malaria Control Programme, Etienne Fondjo, has called on Cameroonians to do diagnosis before taking malaria medication. He gave the advice in a press briefing on April 17 in Yaounde.

Highlighting the importance of carrying out examinations before taking medicine to combat malaria, the Permanent Secretary said the advice is necessary to avoid drug resistance that is already a challenge in the struggle against the disease. He warned that people should not take malaria medication when they haven’t yet been diagnosed of malaria.

“Many people take malaria medicine when they don’t have malaria. The fact that one is feverish does not mean that the person has malaria. Fever can be a consequence of other ailments or diseases. So, it is necessary for diagnosis to be carried out before medication is taken, because, taking medication without diagnosis is promoting drug resistance,” he cautioned. He said with drug resistance, the malaria parasite wouldn’t be killed and malaria wouldn’t be cured.

“When a person takes medication for malaria when the person doesn’t have it, the other illness that the person is suffering from would also not be cured because the person has not taken the correct medication for the illness,” he added. To help the public, he said malaria examinations have been reduced to FCFA 200 and a training programme has been put in place and laboratory technicians trained to do rapid diagnosis over the whole territory.

Fondjo said drug resistance is a major challenge in fighting malaria. That is why, he said, we have been changing drugs from time to time either in the treatment of simple or complicated malaria. He said the Ministry of Public Health published a list of drugs that have been analysed positive for the treatment of the disease. To this effect, he warned those who prescribe ineffective drugs for the treatment of the disease to succumb to the instructions of the Ministry of Public Health.

The malaria expert called on the population to respect the World Health Organisation, WHO, strategy for the defeat of malaria. He said malaria is a health as well as environmental problem. He pointed out that Sub Saharan Africa, with its type of climate, has given great dwelling to the anopheles mosquito that causes malaria.

That is why, he explained, people must respect the WHO’s strategy of cleaning their environment to curb the habitation of mosquitos around them, use mosquito nets, pregnant women following their treatment until delivery to protect themselves and the foetus as well as the general public doing diagnosis before taking medication in order to eradicate malaria.

“The government and partners are reinforcing efforts towards conquering malaria. Measures such as the distribution of free impregnated long-lasting action nets, the free diagnosis and treatment of complicated malaria in children of 0-5 years since 2011, free malaria medication to pregnant women, reduction of the price of malaria examinations to just FCFA 200 for people above five years and reinforced sensitization; are there to pinpoint the importance of the subject” Fondjo said.

To him, these efforts have reduced the morbidity and mortality due to malaria malaria. “In prevention, usage of impregnated long duration action mosquito nets has increased from 19.2 percent in 2011 to 39.3 percent in 2013 and treatment measures have led to the reduction of morbidity from 41 percent in 2008 to 27 percent in 2012.

Although the malaria morbidity has reduced, he pointed out that malaria remains the major killer in our society. The burden of malaria is still high with many deaths and people suffering from the illness. It is in this perspective, he went on, that much more still needs to be done in order to target the about 80 percent morbidity rate still remaining.

“We need to reinforce measures combatting malaria and communication should focus on changing the negative mentality of people towards respecting the WHO malaria’s strategy. The press briefing was part of activities to commemorate the World Malaria Day celebrated every April 25.

The celebration is being carried out in all 10 regions of the country with activities such as conferences, quizzes, sketches, education talks in schools, radio talks by malaria ambassadors, exhibition stands as well as songs, caravan and marches, all with messages on eradicating malaria. Like last year, this years’s (which is the 7th World Malaria Day) theme is “Invest in the future, defeat malaria”.