Ziqitza Healthcare Highlights The Cause Of Urban Malaria At Construction Sites In India

India has joined the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) to accelerate progress against malaria and to eliminate it in the region by 2030.

25th April 2022 is World Malaria Day, highlights the responsibility to end malaria within a generation and to make a malaria-free-world. We at Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd believes in awareness about the need for the prevention, control and elimination of malaria. Since 1970, there has been a surge in urban malaria cases in India. This is largely attributed to unplanned urbanization and large-scale immigration of labourers who have settled in urban slums or areas lacking basic amenities. Immigration is triggered by the phenomenon of rural "push" (for earning livelihood) and an urban "pull" (for availing both healthcare and education). The Urban Malaria Scheme was launched in 1971 across 131 high-risk Indian cities in a phased manner. Dr. Santosh Datar from Ziqitza Healthcare Limited remarked "Malaria is a major public health problem in India. We still have a long way to go to eradicate malaria. And it is necessary to provide continuous education to the people for better understanding regarding disease malaria and how to cure it."

Construction workers are vulnerable to various health hazards. They often settle on lands unfit for settlement and hence are extremely susceptible to malaria and other vector borne diseases. Anopheles Stephens, a key malaria vector, prefers to breed in wells, overhead and ground level water tanks, fountains, masonry tanks and curing water in construction sites.

At present, malaria control has been integrated with other vector-borne diseases under National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). India has joined the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) to accelerate progress against malaria and to eliminate it in the region by 2030.

Dr. Santosh Datar from Ziqitza highlights few Key facts regarding Malaria as common disease in India:

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by malarial parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• Malaria is seasonal and is more common during and just after rainy season in India
• Malaria is preventable and curable.
• Increased malaria prevention and control measures are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places.

Mosquito control remains the most important public health measure to prevent Malaria. Anopheles mosquito mainly breeds in clean stagnant water like water tanks, puddles, flower vases, buckets, old tires etc. and hence it is important to cover all such sources to prevent breeding. Case detection and prompt treatment will also help to control the spread. Control of mosquitos not only helps prevention and spread of malaria but also other mosquito-borne common illnesses in India like dengue, chikungunya, filariasis and Japanese encephalitis.

Dr. Santosh Datar, Ziqitza Healthcare highlights the common symptoms of malaria are Chills, fever, sweating, headache, muscle Pain, nausea &vomiting. Severe cases may exhibit symptoms such as jaundice, convulsions & coma especially in infection with Falciparum malaria. Initial symptoms may be similar to many bacterial, viral and parasitic infections and that may pose a challenge for accurate diagnosis. The symptoms may repeat every 48 72 hours with asymptomatic intervals. Ziqitza Rajasthan & Ziqitza Limited Rajasthan have worked closely with frontline health workers to educate about Malaria and ways to be safe.

About Ziqitza Healthcare Limited

Ziqitza is a "one-stop integrated healthcare solution" for corporate or government that include Ambulance at Site, Medical Helplines, Mobile Medical units Ambulance on Subscription, Wellness at Workplace, Telehealth Services, Medical Rooms, Doctors on Site and Occupational Health Centre, among others. ZHL Rajasthan has appreciated Dr. Santosh Datar's view on prevention & precautions on Malaria. The service network includes 3,300 ambulances, state of art Helpline centres and medical mobile units that services 2 customers every second. We work with multiple state governments and 75 corporate clients in India and Gulf.