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The risk of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Bahrain may have increased due to the unprecedented amount of rainfall in the first three months of this year.
There was a substantial increase in the amount of rain from January to March according to official figures released exclusively to Gulf Weekly compared to the previous year which highlights concerns expressed by scientists who conducted a 10-year review of the status of malaria in the kingdom.
A report, which was published in the Journal of Travel Medicine by experts at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, warned: “The breeding pattern of these mosquitoes in Bahrain has been linked with the level of the underground water table.”
Malaria – which can prove fatal – was eradicated in Bahrain about 20 years ago but according to the study there remains “a potential for the reintroduction of indigenous malaria transmission” unless there is proper control and surveillance measures.
The global malaria situation appears to be worsening as more people are now dying from malaria annually compared to three decades ago and the disease is re-emerging in areas from which it had been eradicated as well as appearing in new areas.
A general reduction in the level of the water table in the kingdom between 1992 and 2001, with the resultant drying up of natural springs and artesian wells traditionally used for irrigation, reduced the overflows which usually served as mosquito breeding sites.
The main deadly anopheline mosquito species in Bahrain is Anopheles stephensi and although the percentage of breeding spots where the larvae were identified remained fairly constant over the 10 year review period there was a slight increase in 2000 and 2001.
Six years ago there were still more than 121,000 potential breeding spots in Bahrain.
According to the figures released this week by the Directorate of Meteorology’s climatology section there has been a marked increase in rain in 2007.
Between January and March this year there was a total rainfall of 41.8 mm compared to only 27.8 mm in the same period last year.
In recent days the Health Ministry has pledged to clean up a swampy area in Wadi Al Buhair that is said to be attracting mosquitoes and sand flies.
There is a weekly programme for spraying the stagnant water to control the mosquito larvae threat.
Environmental health chief Abdulla Al Sitrawi said officials were aware of the problem and were doing everything they could to resolve the issue.
His comments came after Central Municipal Council chairman Abdulrahman Al Hassan called for action after a child in the village had to be treated with antibiotics after being bitten by a flying insect.
The 10-year review of the status of malaria in Bahrain was carried out by Abdulrahman Y. Ismaeel, Abiola C. Senok, Khalid A. Jassim Al-Khaja and Giuseppe A. Botta and they concluded that control measures over the mosquito menace should be maintained to prevent the re-emergence of indigenous malaria transmission.
Bahrain was declared malaria free following successful elimination of all indigenous transmission in 1979. This was largely due to vigorous control measures initiated in 1946 which included residual spraying, control of mosquito breeding sites and active case detection.
Malaria remains a notifiable disease in Bahrain.
EXCLUSIVE
By ASMA salman
asma.salman@gulfweekly.com
