Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Health says the insecticide which it has been using to eradicate the anopheles mosquito, which transmits malaria, is ineffective as the pest has shown resistance, resulting in an increase in the number of cases over the last month.

According to the Health Ministry, preliminary tests done recently by local experts, Trevor Castle and Government entomologist Sherine Huntley, suggest that there may be significant resistance of the mosquito to malathaion, the main insecticide being used under the Malaria Prevention and Control Programme.

Reason for concern

"That would be a reason for concern," Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, acting head of the Malaria Prevention and Control Programme, told The Gleaner yesterday.

She added: "If you are spending valuable time and resources and not having the desired result then anyone would be concerned."

Dr. Lewis-Fuller said there are other insecticides that could be used to eradicate the mosquitoes.

She revealed that two consultants from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, are currently in the island carrying out resistance testing of the mosquito to the malathaion insecticide.

She noted that the results from the tests should be ready today, and her ministry will shift its strategies based on the findings.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lewis-Fuller said in a release yesterday that the Ministry of Health has been applying the insecticide intensively in the affected areas, yet cases are still occurring on an average of six per week over the last month.

Surveillance data, she said, show that the proportion of persons contracting malaria has increased in March in comparison to the trends observed from the previous three months.

The attack rate, Dr. Lewis-Fuller explained, peaked during December, 2006, at 17 cases per 100,000 personsdaily. The rate fell to 12 cases in January, three cases daily in February and 1.4 cases up to March 24. The ministry was expecting to see less than one case per day last month.

On December 1, last year, the Health Ministry reported four cases of malaria in the areas of Trench Town, Delacree Park, Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town. The number has since spread to over 300. A majority of the cases have been treated.