By
Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Aug 29, GNA – Insecticide resistance
is a major threat to the gains made in malaria vector control, Professor Kwadwo
Ansah Koram, immediate past Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for
Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana, has said.
The term insecticide resistance is termed as
the ability of an insect to withstand the effects of an insecticide by becoming
resistant to its toxic effects by means of natural selection and changes.
Prof Koram noted that with regards to
malaria control and elimination, spraying was being done and also the nets had
insecticides which knocks off the vectors, however, currently when these
vectors were exposed to these drugs they still fly around, implying they have
had resistance to insecticides.
“There is a need to look for new
insecticides, some of the studies my colleagues are doing show that some of the
changes in the vector is due to the fact that it is able to produce an enzyme
which decrease the insecticide (in its body); so we are also having a chemical
which will then not allow the insects to degrade the parasites,” he added.
Prof Koram said this in an interview with
the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, on the sidelines of a Public Lecture on
the theme “Contributions of NMIMR towards Malaria Control and Elimination in
Ghana”.
The Public Lecture was part of activities
lined up to mark NMIMR’s 40th Anniversary Celebration on the theme “Sustaining
Global Health Gains through Partnerships in Biomedical Research”.
Other activities to mark the 40 Anniversary
include, a Stakeholder Engagement Workshop, Public Engagement, International
Research Conference, and a thanksgiving service.
Prof Koram underscored the need to have
collaborative effort in eliminating malaria, recounting that, when China
decided to eliminate malaria it was not the goal of the Ministry of Health
(MoH) only but all stakeholders.
He said currently in Ghana that agenda
appeared to be on the shoulders of few stakeholders particularly the Ministry
of Health and the Ghana Health Service, but this had to be a decision taken by
all, and backed with the required funding.
“Basically we need to have a totality of
work; funding, research such as drug discovery with the herbal medicines, you
need to have a programme in that direction too; some of the plants do work and
we need to find out”.
Prof Koram said the National Malaria Control
Programme (NMCP) does the distribution of nets and spraying as well, making
sure the drugs were working and currently 20 per cent of those who came with
fever have parasites.
He stated that the NMCP was working with
Noguchi to make sure those who got treated were actually those who had the
parasites.
Touching on the malaria vaccines being
piloted, he noted that the vaccines did not give a 100 per cent protection
however there was a 40 to 50 per cent protection, as it prevented some diseases
in children.
He said the study was not done to look at
its effect on mortality, even though it was one of the questions raised whether
this would prevent deaths; the study was done to show its effect therefore the
piloting was trying to answer such questions.
Dr Keziah L. Malm, Programmes Manager of
NMCP, who chaired the occasion, said efforts in fighting malaria had being
useful and that it had been very collaborative.
She urged the public to support NMCP’s
strategies, as available interventions had proven to work.
GNA
