Malaria cases were detected thanks to preventive medicine and periodic border controls. Data revealed by the Algerian Ministry of Health indicate that the registered cases are distributed in the south of the country, and it is limited to five cities, namely Tamanrasset, Adrar and Elysé, in addition to Ouargla and Ghardaia.
The announcement of the spread of the disease sparked terror among the Algerian street, leaving a heated debate on social networking sites, as activists commented, “The year 2020 will not pass peacefully, it seems, whoever does not die in Corona will be eliminated by malaria.”
In response to these concerns, Minister of Health Abd al-Rahman bin Bouzid reassured public opinion that the medical authorities “are taking care of these patients,” and that “no local case of malaria has been reported among the recently recorded cases in the southern states.”
In statements to Algerian Radio, the government official affirmed the ability of his interests to take care of cases infected with this disease, in addition to “the abundance of medicine”. He stated that there is no danger that the disease will spread to the densely populated northern states.
Illegal immigrants
The city of Tamanrasset (2000 km from the capital Algiers), which borders Mali and Niger, is at the forefront of malaria cases, with 1,344 cases recorded alone since the beginning of this year. This is a big number that causes concern, according to Dr. Akhmouk Elias, Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Tamanrasset Hospital, southern Algeria.
He said in statements to “The Independent Arabia” that 80 percent of cases were recorded last September, as this month is considered the peak time for malaria infection, because it witnesses rainfall, which encourages the spread of the disease.
In the context, Ilias explained, “The climate of the Sahara Desert is characterized by being subtropical, so the rainy season begins between August and September. Given that Algeria shares land borders with Niger and Mali, the two countries classified as epidemic areas for malaria, it is not unlikely that it will reach the country.
Algeria announced, about a week ago, the deportation of 1,500 illegal immigrants, most of them from Niger.
Warnings of high toll
According to Elias, “The infection is usually transmitted through the movement of individuals, due to social and economic relations and even illegal migration.” He pointed out that “it is true that we have experience in dealing with malaria, but the number of infections is record so far, which are controlled cases, as the death rate reached 0.38 percent.”
The head of the Infectious Diseases Department considered that “the increasing number of imported malaria cases is due to the availability of free treatment in Algeria.”
The method of treating people with malaria varies from case to case. In normal cases, the patient is prescribed medication that can be taken at home without the need to stay in the hospital, but moderate-risk cases require follow-up from three to five days at the level of infectious disease services, in which treatment is by injection, and then taking pills. As for severe cases who are in coma or suffer from kidney or liver failure, they are admitted to the intensive care unit.
Elias advised the Algerians to avoid moving to neighboring countries during this particular period, which is witnessing a terrible spread of malaria, especially pregnant women and children under five years of age, because they are most at risk of death.
On the other hand, he called for intensifying border control and launching epidemiological investigations, with the need to eliminate all causes of transmission from stagnant water and swamps, in a step to prevent the proliferation of the insect that transmits malaria, especially in light of expectations of an increase in the number of infections in the remaining months of 2020.
Corona and malaria
In 2019, Algeria obtained the international certificate of being free of malaria, as for five years it had not registered any endemic case. There is no vaccine for malaria, but there is a treatment “chloroquine” that is currently provided to people with Coronavirus.
Malaria is classified among the most dangerous and deadly epidemics in the African region, which is caused by a mosquito called “Anopheles”, which takes from stagnant water and swamps as a place to reproduce.
The Algerian Ministry of Health has put in service 25 centers to provide medicines for tropical diseases, in addition to strengthening prevention in control centers and border points to confront diseases of international spread.
Finally, the World Health Organization has expressed its fear that the Corona virus will impede efforts to combat the malaria epidemic on the African continent.
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