APA-Freetown (Sierra Leone)
The
authorities in Sierra Leone’s southern Pujehun District have raised alarm over
a sharp rise in Malaria cases and deaths.
Figures attributed
to the district health office indicate that in the last six months alone - January
to June – 64, 245 cases have been registered, with 22 deaths. All of the deaths
were children under five years.
The statistics,
obtained through the Pujehun District Council show that 33, 010 cases [14, 509
for adults and 18, 501 for under-five children] were recorded in the first
quarter of the year – January to March. And in the second quarter – April to
June – 32, 235 cases [14, 205 for adults and 18, 030 for under-fives] were
recorded.
This,
according to Mohamed Arphan Kabba, Deputy Chief Administrator at the Pujehun
District Council, places Pujehun, alongside the northern district of Port Loko,
as the district with the highest number of malaria cases in the year so far.