Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health has decided to seek help from the World Health Organization (WHO) to control malaria, reported the Gulf Times newspaper.
Participants in Tuesday’s meeting of the national panel on epidemic control said WHO expertise would greatly help Qatar in its fight against malaria.
Khalifa Al Jaber, assistant undersecretary for technical affairs at the ministry, said that although malaria did not pose a grave threat to Qatar, it would be better if the control measures were further tightened.
Qatar will ask WHO to make available an entomologist and paracytologist, sources said.
It was reported at the meeting that some 18 malaria cases were detected in the first quarter of this year. This is a 25 percent reduction in the number of cases compared to the corresponding period last year, said the paper.
In the first quarter of 2000, some 24 malaria cases were detected in the state. In 1999, the number of cases was 30.
However, the panel said Qatar did not have a single case of endemic malaria in 2000 – Albawaba.com
