Sindh [Pakistan], October 30 : The Sindh province of Pakistan has reported a sharp increase in malaria cases, with over 93,000 cases recorded in the past week, as reported by ARY News.
Data from Pakistan's National Institute of Health shows that 93,002 malaria cases were reported across Sindh during the last week alone. Karachi, the provincial capital, also saw over 1,000 new cases during the same period, ARY News reported.
Last month, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Chief Minister Amin Gandapur's Health Adviser, Ehtesham Ali, took notice of 54,000 cases of malaria reported from different parts of the province in 2024 and had directed all the District Health Officers (DHOs) of the respective districts to take immediate measures for malaria control and submit a report to his office, Ary News reported.
Ehtesham Ali said that the southern districts were currently under the grip of the disease and emergency measures were being taken. Ary News was also informed that due to climate change, the vector-borne diseases were increasing rapidly in the country.
In a report of the health department, it was noted that district Khyber of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province remained most affected by the disease.
10,000 cases of malaria were recorded from there in the time period between January 2024 and August 2024.
A similar rise in malaria cases was seen in various places. 6,000 were reported from Shangla for the first time, 3,000 from Battagram, 4,000 from DI Khan, 2,000 from Tank and Karak and 3,000 from Lakki Marwat, ARY News reported.
According to the World Health Organisation, malaria is one of the leading causes of illness and death in Pakistan. The disease is endemic in Pakistan and the cases have seen a rise in the country after the floods in June 2022, which badly impacted the health infrastructure of the country.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.