Guyana’s premier health institution, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has run out of medication to treat malaria.
Georgetown Public Hospital
This was confirmed by the Public Health Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Terrence Esseboom, who said that the hospital’s main pharmacy is out of the medication to treat the mosquito-borne disease.
The confirmation of the shortage of malaria medication was made after this newspaper contacted the Ministry regarding a patient who was diagnosed with malaria but was not given any medication at the health facility.
When this publication visited the health institution, the patient, who has been shivering with high fever for the past four days, revealed that the doctors informed him that the hospital does not have any medication to treat him for malaria.
The male patient said he is being treated with injections to control his fever, however, he does not know when he will be able to leave the hospital. The man added that he longs to be at home, reunited with his family.
Guyana Times observed that the patient’s lips were cracked and pale as he complained of feeling weak. But even as the hospital awaits the medication, the Vector Control Services, which is a stone’s throw away from the main hospital, has the drug to treat malaria.
“What I learnt is that they don’t have that medication in the main pharmacy but I can’t confirm whether there is any at the clinic. The clinic might have the medication. I know at the Vector Control Services there is medication there because I just spoke with the person in charge and they have medication so I don’t know why, if he is in the ward, why they didn’t get [drugs] because the Vector Control Services said that they have in stock but there was none in the main pharmacy,” the PRO said.
He added, “…right next door to the place [hospital] is the Vector Control Services and the doctor said they have, so all they have to do is ask if they want in the case they run out,” he added.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease which can lead to death. The disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Due to the fact that the malaria parasite is found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared use of needles or syringes contaminated with blood.
Malaria can be cured once treated with the right drugs. Affected persons will experience shaking, high fever, profuse sweating, headaches, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea among others.
