The conquest of malaria

Dubai: Thirty years ago the UAE had a significant malaria problem, and in October 1978 the country was in the midst of a campaign to fight the mosquito-borne disease.

The public was warned to empty buckets that caught water dripping from air-conditioners. Residents were advised to take anti-malaria medicine once a week, and people living on the east coast were told to take it twice weekly.

One major hospital was treating 30 malaria patients a week.

Gulf News reported that Sharjah Municipality distributed free malaria pills to hotels, large companies and residents, while the Dubai Public Health Department sprayed labour accommodation with insecticide.

Malaria has since been eradicated.

Malaria-control activities started in the UAE in 1970 when the prevalence rate was between 30 to 60 per cent in some areas, according to a Ministry of Health report.

Strategy

Seven years later, a more comprehensive strategy for the control of malaria was adopted with the objective of preventing indigenous transmission of the disease.

Dr Mahmoud Fikri, assistant undersecretary of preventive medicine in the Ministry of Health, confirmed that the UAE was certified malaria free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last January.

The UAE reported its last case of indigenous malaria in 2000.

"We are taking surveillance measures so that we can continue to keep it under control. We have three regional teams that collect samples of larvae, which we then take to the laboratory at the Central Malaria Control Department in Sharjah," Fikri said.

The laboratory acts as a reference where blood smears are sent for diagnosis.

There is a malaria laboratory in each region of the country that focuses on fever screening, epidemiological-case investigations and follow-ups.

"The regional teams have to handle all these issues and are accountable in monitoring types of mosquitoes in the country.

"It is a continuous programme aimed at monitoring the female Anopheles mosquito, which transmits the disease," he said. The yearly report is then submitted to the WHO regional office in Cairo.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced plans to set up a research centre in the UAE that will focus on developing cheap anti-malarial medicines.

Health authorities said malaria cases have often been reported among people who come back from their summer holidays, particularly from India, Africa and southeast Asia.

Travellers are advised to take anti-malarial drugs over a period of six weeks to ensure maximum protection.