Mizoram govt warned action against refusal of DDT spray

Aizawl, Feb 19 (UNI) With sharp increase of malaria related deaths in Mizoram in the last three years, state health department has warned stringent measures against the people who refuse to accept spraying DDT.

The department has asked the field staff to submit a detailed report about the permit workers who did not spray DDT inside homes.

Health department officials here today said altogether 120 malaria related deaths was recorded in 2006, which was 74 in 2005 and 72 in 2004.

According to statistics, about 78 percent occured during the months of May to August while 33 per cent of the victims were children aged below 14 years and about 65 percent of them sought medical attention too late.

Officials said the state still sees an increase in malaria deaths but the fault lies in the laxity of the workers in the field of eradicating malaria.

''A new strain of malaria has become chloroquine resistant and 31 doctors of state health service were assigned to carry out research on chloroquine resistant malaria strain,'' the officials informed.

The doctors would concentrate on the death cases of malaria and will specifically be studying their lifestyle to ascertain how they contracted malaria, they added.

Officials, however, stated that people do not want their homes to be sprayed with liquidised DDT which prevent mosquitoes.

UNI