Malaria is an endemic disease in Nigeria, being the leading cause of morbidity and mortality with all Nigerians at risk.
The disease, caused by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, is also the leading cause of school absenteeism, hospitalisation, and out-of-pocket expenditure.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that 44 per cent of household out-of-pocket expenditure in Nigeria is on malaria, adding that malaria causes a significant loss in economic growth and puts a strain on household finances.
The Taraba State Specialist Hospital, located along Yola, Muslim Council bypass in Jalingo, Taraba state capital is been described as the hub of mosquitoes where people mostly contact malaria-related ailments.
Sadly it leads to a loss in working hours in the hospital, hospitalisation, and out-of-pocket expenses as it accounts for more than 60 per cent of hospital visits.
Patients and their relatives including doctors, nurses, and workers at the hospital who spoke to LEADERSHIP said the uncontrolled measures to curtail mosquitoes in the hospital by the management have become a source of concern.
Our correspondent who visited the hospital gathered that most relatives who accompany patients to the hospital for two or more days always return home with malaria as a result of mosquito bite.
It is also gathered that the mosquitoes in the hospital were a result of the unclean surrounding, poor sanitation, and unhygienic condition within the environment as the environment is surrounded by bushes and stagnant water holes.
A nurse in the hospital who spoke to our correspondent said the level of mosquito bites especially during raining season is unbearable such that some students who usually come to the hospital for Industrial Training IT refuse to be given duties at the night or relocate to other hospitals
The nurse who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of being victimised said many workers in the hospital have suffered a malaria-related ailment as a result of mosquito bites.
Some relatives of patients in the hospital Madam Kewe Augustine and Joseph Ndese who spoke to LEADERSHIP Weekend lamented that they always spend sleepless nights as a result of mosquito bite.
“Nobody sleeps here at night, it is better you sleep during daytime and prepare yourself to be awake in the night due to the whining sound of mosquitoes, the bites as well as the sound will not allow you to sleep.
“We don’t sleep all night to ensure that our relatives are not bitten by mosquitoes. They are weak already and a mosquito bite by a female anopheles mosquito will add to their symptoms.
Speaking with our correspondent at the female ward where mostly women and children are admitted, Mrs Ladi Adams who has been admitted with her four-year-old baby for the past two weeks said she has treated herself with acute Malaria since she came to the hospital.
“I have suffered and treated malaria since I came to this hospital, the mosquitoes here are unbearable, the worst part of it is that we can not even use a mosquito net for ourselves.
Mallam Dauda Ishaku, a 56 years old who has been in the hospital for over a week with his wife, also confirms that staying in the hospital is as good as seeking to contract malaria from mosquitoes.
“My wife was admitted with a stomach disorder, I came here safely and healthy to stay with her, but now I develop severe headache and weakness of the body, I was diagnosed with malaria here in the hospital again, I did not come here with the sickness, Is here in the hospital that I contacted it through mosquitoes, Ishaku spoke in Hausa language.
A security personnel at the entrance gate of the hospital who refused to mention her name due to fear of being victimised said all of the security personnel suffer mosquito bites, particularly those on night duty, she said they use to buy snipers to spread in the security office to control the mosquitoes bite.
“This our side of work is the worst, even if we spread (Ota Piapia) a local mosquito repellent, we still have to be opening the door constantly to go out and open the gate for those who are coming in and out of the hospital,” she said urging the management to take sanitation more seriously.
She further said that “the mosquito situation here is terrible. If there is any way the management can control the level of mosquito bites, we can work better.”
Most often than not, she said they are not sure of resuming the next day as they do feel feverish, a symptom of malaria.
The security personnel said if the supervisors enquire about the problem, the next thing the guard will say is they are down with fever, headache, or body weakness.
More so, doctors and nurses who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said it was always disheartening whenever they were on night duties in the hospital.
“Is always bad news to everyone here in the hospital when it is time for the night shift, the level at which mosquitoes bite here forces us to be on anti-malaria drugs all the time.
Some of the management staff of the hospital attributed the development to a lack of running costs from the Taraba State Government which has not been paid for over eight months to fumigate the surroundings.
A management staff said the government has denied the hospital running cost for more than eight months, leaving the expenses in the hands of the medical director and a few doctors.
“Is not only mosquitoes that have taken over our wards, even in our toilets we don’t have toiletries, there has been no money coming from the state government to run the hospital, as expected, that’s why you can see that everything here is not moving the way it opts to be.
The public relations officer PRO of the hospital Mrs. Dorcas Philemon when contacted over the development said she is not aware if there was any measure taken by the management to fumigate the surroundings.
“I can not tell you if there are efforts ongoing to eradicate mosquitoes in the hospital for now because I am yet to be briefed about that, I believe the MD can throw more light on that, he knows about it better than I do,” she added.
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