Malaria kills five every five minutes

Kade, Sept. 4, GNA - Malaria remains the top killer disease in the country, killing on the average, five persons every minute, Mrs Charlotte Amponsah, Kwaebibrem District Public Health Nurse, has said. According to her, on the average, 3.5 million cases were recorded every year, with average daily reported cases of 7,500.

Speaking at a public health education forum at Kade, Mrs Amponsah said about 40,000 deaths due to malaria were recorded in Ghana annually. Mrs Amponsah said children under five and pregnant women were most vulnerable to malaria attack, saying in Ghana, 45 children less than five die from malaria everyday with two dying ever hour.

On the prevention and control of malaria, she said, it could be effective if bushes in communities were cleared and containers that could collect water such as empty containers, coconut shells, empty cans, were rid off and the use of impregnated bed nets, especially by children and pregnant women intensified.

There was also the need for early detection and treatment at health institutions and not by quacks or at drug stores.