Participación de la comunidad en la erradicación de la malaria

Abstract

Community participation in malaria eradication programs in the Americas has so far been satisfactory. With the help of health education the best results were obtained in intradomiciliary spraying with residual insecticides, and it can be said that now there are fewer than 5 percent refusals, and in radical treatment with primaquine, over 99 percent acceptance is usually obtained. The greatest difficulties in obtaining active community participation, especially in rural areas, were encountered with mass treatment with antimalaria drugs (primaquine-chloroquine) administered fortnightly house by house; these may be attributed mainly to the side effects produced by the association of drugs. If it is possible to obtain an association of drugs that does not produce side effects, especially in children and the aged, the communities will accept practically all these health measures. The contribution made by the communities to eradication campaigns is indicated by the fact that in Middle America alone there are more than 50,000 voluntary collaborators in charge of notification posts. Nevertheless, as eradication procedures advance and large areas enter the consolidation phase, the task of educating the community becomes more difficult, owing to the fact tha although malaria no longer exists there, blood smears still have to be taken for purpose of evaluation. Community interest and cooperation