Chronicle Editor
Nyore Madzianike Manicaland Bureau
The Ministry of Health and Child Care will this week embark on an anti-malaria drive where it will spray all the seven districts of Manicaland to control deaths associated with the disease.
Manicaland provincial medical director Dr Patron Mafaune said they would use Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in three districts and orgsanophosphates in the remaining districts.
DDT would be used in Chipinge, Makoni, and Buhera districts, while orgsanophosphates would be used in Mutasa, Mutare, Nyanga and Chimanimani. The chemical is a colourless, tasteless, and almost odourless crystalline organochlorine with known insecticidal properties and environmental impacts.
Dr Mafaune said the programme commenced with the training of personnel who would be undertaking the drive.
”We have resorted to use the DDT after we stopped following outcry from environmentalists who were against its use, said Dr Mafaune. “It appears as if most people do not understand its environmental impact, but it is the most effective chemical,” she said.
Dr Mafaune said although there were no known effects on humans, they had sought authority to use DDT from the United Nations. She said the ministry found it befitting to use DDT for malaria control after discovering that there was no other cheap or alternative chemical.
There was a notification letter to WHO and United Nations Environmental Protection (UNEP), said Dr Mafaune. Stockholm convention provides for the restricted use of DDT for IRS only and the MoHCC is the only authorised government ministry to use DDT for malaria vector control.
In Zimbabwe, Ministry of Health reintroduced DDT because it is cheap and more effective, with a longer residual killing power than any available alternatives.
“DDT sticks on walls for a long time and a single spray kills a lot of mosquitoes. Its use has seen most districts in Zimbabwe reduce their annual malaria incidence to less than five in 1 000 population and now we are targeting the districts for pre-elimination,” she said.
Dr Mafaune appealed to people from all districts in the province to accept the use of DDT in their areas, saying once sprayed it would last for nearly a year.
She said the chemical would be used in-doors only under strict supervision. When used under strict supervision as is the case in Zimbabwe, no environmental contamination would occur.
DDT is safe for both spray operators and residents of sprayed houses. There is no evidence to date of any adverse effects of DDT in humans.
Chipinge recorded the highest cases of malaria, with 33,8 percent, with Nyanga coming out second with 18 percent between January and June this year. Buhera had the lowest with only two percent, followed by Mutare city which had 2,9 percent, while Makoni had 5,6 percent.
Chimanimani had 7,1 percent, Mutasa had 13,7 and Nyanga recorded 18,1 percent malaria cases.
Online Reporter