Expert suggests migrant worker link to malaria

An expert has suggested there could be a link between rising instances of malaria and migrant workers in Goa.

Dr Ashwini Kumar, deputy director of the National Institute for Malaria Research, said that some of these employees arrive in the country already carrying the disease.

He told IANS that labourers arrive in Goa from some regions that are highly affected by malaria, such as Orissa and Chhattisgarh.

Dr Kumar said: "Screening all of them is tough, there is also the incubation period to think of, when malarial symptoms do not show."

He added that the government has put measures in place to help reduce the country's cases of malaria, including the introduction of a health card for migrant workers.

Earlier this week, a study by PSI suggested that cost may be restricting the availability of some malaria medication.

This referred to artemisinin combination therapy, stating that this treatment can be 20 times more expensive than other alternatives.

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