Sespa warns about controlling malaria cases

World Malaria Day, celebrated on April 25th, aims to raise awareness about preventing this disease. In this sense, the State Department of Public Health (Sespa) considers it opportune to alert the population about the importance of combating the action of insects that transmit the disease.

In data from the Malaria Control Coordination of the State Department of Public Health (Sespa), updated until April 19, 6,603 cases of malaria have already been confirmed this year in Pará, corresponding to an increase of 6.9% in records compared to the same period in 2023, whose 12 months recorded 22,930 confirmed cases, representing a reduction of 3.30% compared to 2022.

The occurrence of cases this year corresponded mainly to the municipalities of Jacareacanga (2,666), Itaituba (1,766), Anajás (892), Chaves (265) Breves (198) and Bagre (133). For this year, the actions developed by the State Government, through Sespa, together with the 144 municipalities in Pará, will continue the constant surveillance of this endemic and facilitate access to diagnosis and immediate treatment of suspected cases of the disease, in addition to combating the transmitting insect.

According to the state coordinator of Malaria Control, Paoola Vieira, of the total number of confirmed cases that occurred this year, 2,842 occurred in mining areas; 2,361 in rural areas; 1,254 on indigenous lands; 144 in urban environments and 2 in settlements.

Symptoms and treatment

Malaria is caused by a parasite transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito, which becomes infected when it bites a sick person. The main symptoms are headache, high fever, chills, tremors and sweating. Other symptoms that may initially appear are nausea, vomiting, tiredness and lack of appetite.

Diagnosis can be made using a thick drop or rapid test. The thick drop is obtained with a blood sample collected directly by digital puncture.

Malaria has a cure and treatment is effective, simple and free. However, if it is not diagnosed and treated in a timely and appropriate manner, it can progress to serious forms. Hence the importance of people who have traveled to a malaria-endemic area in the last 15 days immediately seeking health services as soon as they experience any of these symptoms.

Treatment is carried out according to the patient’s weight and parasitic species, which may be P. vivax, P. falciparum or mixed. With a positive result for malaria, the patient receives medication and immediately begins treatment through the Unified Health System (SUS). It is important that the patient completes the treatment even if they are already symptom-free, so that they can fully recover.

The main preventive measures are to install screens on doors and windows in the house if possible; avoid building houses near forests and streams, as these are places where mosquitoes live and breed, and use mosquito nets and repellents.

Sespa shares – Throughout this year, Sespa will continue to intensify complementary actions to ensure control and reduce the burden of the disease. However, it is important to give sustainability to these actions and maintain vigilance, as well as raising awareness among local management.

From January to March this year, 7,550 mosquito nets impregnated with long-lasting insecticide (MILD) have already been distributed by Sespa this year alone to the 7th, 8th and 9th Regional Health Centers, based on criteria such as cases reported by location, number of buildings and the affected population.

Regarding the use of insecticides to combat mosquitoes, Paoola Vieira explained that there are two types of spraying: indoor spraying, in which the internal walls of residences are sprayed and where the insecticide remains active for up to four months, thus being the most effective. .

“The other is extra-home space nebulization, which is recommended as the last control strategy, and when there is a prior study of the behavior of this vector in the area. It should only be used when there is a high density of mosquitoes outside the house, which, in most cases, occurs at night”, he concluded.

To also combat the disease, Sespa distributed 249,437 antimalarial medication tablets in the first three months of 2024 to the 13 Regional Health Centers, in order to serve the Municipal Health Departments as required. Another measure during this period was the distribution of 7,575 rapid tests divided between the 3rd, 8th and 9th Regional Health Centers.

Technical assistance in investigation and case control actions will also continue this year, with training carried out by Sespa, with support from the Central State Laboratory (Lacen) in several municipalities and dozens of participations by technicians from the Malaria Coordination in training on the disease , in conjunction with other federative entities.