Self medication impeding war on malaria, say Health officials

Self medication is the major hindrance in the war against malaria in Gusii region, health officials have said.

This is despite the officials saying they have achieved major strides in bringing to zero prevalence of the disease. Nyamira County Chief Officer in charge of Health Douglas Bosire said the county has recorded a sharp fall of cases of malaria from 30 to around five per cent.

Bosire noted for every two to three patients who reported to county health facilities, they had first tried self medication before resorting to seeking specialised treatment in hospitals. He said when questioned, most of the patients reported to have experienced symptoms they suspected to be of malaria but instead of going to healthcare centers, they had opted for over-the-counter prescriptions.

This, he said, poses a serious threat of drug resistance, which was becoming characteristic in many of the reported cases.

"It has become a norm that when most of the residents here have headaches or experience body aches, they just rush to local chemists, where they buy anti-malarial medicine," said  Bosire.

And in Homa Bay, three out of 10 people who visit health facilities are diagnosed with malaria.

According to the County Director of Health Services Gordon Okomo, 30 per cent of the people who visit all 210 health facilities in the county are malaria positive due to the environment, which allows survival of anopheles mosquitoes.

Speaking to The Standard yesterday, Okomo said the most affected lot is pregnant women and children aged below five years, according to the latest Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey conducted between 2014 and 2015.

The county has so far put in place measures aimed at reducing spread of the disease such as mass bed nets distribution and procurement of Rapid Diagnosis Test kits.

Report by Stanley Ogwae, Scophine Otieno and James Omoro