• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Lifestyle
Ghana fights malarial chemical resistance with new spray

Ghana fights malarial chemical resistance with new spray

May 15, 2018
Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

May 29, 2023
MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

May 29, 2023
State drags feet as Minister Nandutu moves to halt Karamoja iron sheet trial over vague law

Minister Nandutu loses bid to halt iron sheets trial

May 29, 2023

Museveni finally assents to Anti-Homosexuality Bill

May 29, 2023
Nigeria to swear in new president today

Nigeria to swear in new president today

May 29, 2023
Why who is the President of Turkey matters to everyone

Why who is the President of Turkey matters to everyone

May 29, 2023
India walks into new parliament, finally abandoning colonial era building

India walks into new parliament, finally abandoning colonial era building

May 29, 2023
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan wins closely fought presidential election in Turkey

May 29, 2023
Pan Africanists shed light on significance of Africa day

Pan Africanists shed light on significance of Africa day

May 29, 2023
Girl angry over confiscated iPhone, sets fire to school dormitory, 19 killed

Girl angry over confiscated iPhone, sets fire to school dormitory, 19 killed

May 28, 2023
Logo
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • 2021 Elections Watch
      • The Election Podcast
    • Exclusive
    • Investigations
  • Education
  • Security
    • Cyber Security
  • Health
    • Coronavirus outbreak
  • Opinions
    • Columns
      • Parting Shot
      • Two Sides of a Coin
      • Bazanye’s Quick Shots
      • Mable Twegumye Zake’s #BitsOfMe&You
      • But this Year!
      • What Did I Miss?
  • Lifestyle
    • Hatmahz Kitchen
    • Food Hub
    • Let’s Talk About Sex
    • Entertainment
    • Tour & Travel
    • Love Therapist
    • Homes
  • Global
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • The Americas
  • East Africa
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Sudan
  • Technology
  • Ask the Mechanic
  • Special Reports
    • Kabaka Mutebi’s 25th Coronation Series
    • Focus on Somalia
    • Sino-Africa
    • Uganda at 56
    • Anti-Corruption Fight
    • Age Limit Map
    • Tuve Ku Kaveera
  • Sports
    • Place-It
    • StarTimes Uganda Premier League
    • Bundesliga
    • World Cup
  • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
Logo
No Result
View All Result
Home Health

Ghana fights malarial chemical resistance with new spray

Amon Katungulu by Amon Katungulu
May 15, 2018
in Health, News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Ghana fights malarial chemical resistance with new spray

In this file photo taken on May 1, 2018 a worker shows some of the mosquitos they breed at the Entomologist Research Centre in Obuasi, Ashanti Region. The centre is set to control and prevent malaria through the analysis of parasites, mosquito monitoring and efficacy testing of insecticides. / AFP PHOTO / CRISTINA ALDEHUELA

Bismark Owusu moves food and bowls from a bedroom and covers clothes and furniture with a large sheet before mixing a mosquito-killing chemical with water in his spray pack.

He then puts on head-to-toe safety gear, straps the pack to his back and methodically sprays the walls, windows and corners of the room.

Owusu’s visit to Domeabra, a small community in the Obuasi area of the Ashanti region in central Ghana, is his latest stop in the country’s fight against malaria.

The death of two of his friends from the disease spurs him on. “Why wouldn’t I help if others are dying? I am here today helping to eradicate this deadly malaria,” he said.

Malaria, which is spread to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, is one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries across the world in 2016 and 445,000 deaths.

Most of those cases and deaths  — about 90 percent — were in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana, which is home to some 28 million people, there were 4.8 million cases and 599 deaths last year, a marked drop from the 2,200 who died in 2011.

But with global concern that the fight against malaria has reached a plateau, African governments and development agencies are looking at new ways to step up the fight.

That includes preventative measures such as distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and developing a vaccine against the disease but also indoor spraying.

A worker takes one of the mosquitos they breed at the Entomologist Research Centre in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, to analyse it.

Ghana is the first on the continent to introduce the large-scale use of a new “third generation insecticide” against mosquitoes, which have developed a resistance to other chemicals.

– ‘Intelligent insects’ –

As Ghana’s rainy season approaches, when malaria cases increase, Owusu and his colleagues at the non-profit organisation AGALMal are working flat out.

The organisation grew out of a social initiative by global mining firm AngloGold Ashanti and has a laboratory in the grounds of an old mining site in Obuasi.

There, tiny mosquito pupae dart around in water in a white plastic container in a lab.

Soon they will transform into mosquitoes and be studied by scientists. Technologist Paul Osei-Bonsu said chemical resistance was a major issue for the spraying programme.

If a population of mosquitoes is sprayed and just one survives and reproduces, the resistance will be passed on, he explained.

“If you use the same spray over time you will have 90 percent of the population not dying,” he added.

Programme director Samuel Asiedu says mosquitoes are “intelligent insects”, so the new chemical — SumiShield 50WG — should be more effective when rotated with others.

In 2006, after the first two years of the indoor spraying, the hospital in Obuasi saw a 75-percent decrease in malaria cases.

That led to the programme being expanded with additional support from global health initiative Unitaid and the Global Fund partnership.

Currently, the indoor spraying programme targets the homes of 1.2 million people.

“We are anticipating other chemicals to come on board by the end of the year so we can be rotating the use of chemicals to prevent resistance development,” said Asiedu.

Unitaid project director David McGuire said he hoped the scheme “will convince donors and national governments to increase their investment in this life-saving intervention”.

– ‘Peace of mind’ –

Keziah Malm, who manages the national malaria control programme at the Ghana Health Service, says the new WHO-approved spray is considered safe and has been tested internationally and locally.

It will be used in Obuasi and Ghana’s far north — all of the Upper West region and three districts in the Upper East — which are high-risk zones for malaria.

Local communities still need to be convinced about the benefits of having their homes sprayed. But Asiedu says only a handful of people refuse.

Sprayers themselves also speak to households about the work and the risks to health from the disease, which can lead to severe illness and death if not treated within 24 hours.

“If I go to the whole house and someone does not want it I have to sit the person and let them know the importance of the spraying because malaria kills,” said Owusu.

“It’s very important we all understand that malaria is a killer. We have to eradicate it and kick it out of Obuasi and the nation as a whole.”

During the course of his work, he’s found everyone has a story about the disease.

“I sprayed a full house and the owner was telling me her son died some years go from malaria. He would be 18 years today. She was crying bitterly,” he added.

Children under five and pregnant women are considered most vulnerable to malaria.

Tags: chemical resistancefight malariamalariamalaria curemalaria fightmalarial vaccine
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

Uganda Law Society: “Parliament has no power to scrap LDC pre-entry exams”

Next Post

Political Scientist, Prof Foster Byarugaba, is dead

Amon Katungulu

Amon Katungulu

Related Posts

Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

by Muhamadi Matovu
May 29, 2023
0

President Museveni has warned members of parliament against using their own money in the hope of solving all their constituents...

MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

by Muhamadi Matovu
May 29, 2023
0

The government has  launched a new ferry MV Palm which will ease transport from Kiyindi landing site in Buikwe district...

State drags feet as Minister Nandutu moves to halt Karamoja iron sheet trial over vague law

Minister Nandutu loses bid to halt iron sheets trial

by Kenneth Kazibwe
May 29, 2023
0

The Anti Corruption Division of the High Court in Kampala has dismissed an application in which State Minister for Karamoja,...

Museveni finally assents to Anti-Homosexuality Bill

by Kenneth Kazibwe
May 29, 2023
0

President Museveni has finally assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 to make it law. The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among...

Next Post
Political Scientist, Prof Foster Byarugaba, is dead

Political Scientist, Prof Foster Byarugaba, is dead

ADVERTISEMENT
Plugin Install : Widget Tab Post needs JNews - View Counter to be installed
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

Museveni warns MPs against using own money to solve their constituents problems 

May 29, 2023
MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

MV Palm launched to aid transport needs in Buvuma, Buikwe

May 29, 2023
State drags feet as Minister Nandutu moves to halt Karamoja iron sheet trial over vague law

Minister Nandutu loses bid to halt iron sheets trial

May 29, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Careers
Call us: +256-417-720-101
Email: [email protected]

© 2020 Nile Post Uganda Ltd. - A Next Media Services Company.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • 2021 Elections Watch
      • The Election Podcast
    • Exclusive
    • Investigations
  • Education
  • Security
    • Cyber Security
  • Health
    • Coronavirus outbreak
  • Opinions
    • Columns
      • Parting Shot
      • Two Sides of a Coin
      • Bazanye’s Quick Shots
      • Mable Twegumye Zake’s #BitsOfMe&You
      • But this Year!
      • What Did I Miss?
  • Lifestyle
    • Hatmahz Kitchen
    • Food Hub
    • Let’s Talk About Sex
    • Entertainment
    • Tour & Travel
    • Love Therapist
    • Homes
  • Global
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • The Americas
  • East Africa
    • Kenya
    • Rwanda
    • Tanzania
    • South Sudan
    • DR Congo
    • Ethiopia
    • Sudan
  • Technology
  • Ask the Mechanic
  • Special Reports
    • Kabaka Mutebi’s 25th Coronation Series
    • Focus on Somalia
    • Sino-Africa
    • Uganda at 56
    • Anti-Corruption Fight
    • Age Limit Map
    • Tuve Ku Kaveera
  • Sports
    • Place-It
    • StarTimes Uganda Premier League
    • Bundesliga
    • World Cup
  • Jobs

© 2020 Nile Post Uganda Ltd. - A Next Media Services Company.