Nonstop battle against malaria in the Islamic Republic of Iran
18 April 2024 – In the Iranian coastal town of Konarak, on the country’s southern shores, a young sailor’s journey took an unexpected turn. Esmaeil, aged 19 years, found himself grappling with a high fever and crippling body pain while aboard a fishing vessel.
With his condition rapidly deteriorating, the boat made an unplanned stop near Bandzark, in Minab county, Hormozgan. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the boat’s owner went with Esmaeil to the nearest district health centre in Minab. This facility is open for emergency cases even on holidays, a fact known among the community thanks to prior awareness-raising by behvarz (rural health workers).
In search of a diagnosis and treatment, the boat owner swiftly took the ailing sailor for a malaria microscopy examination, for which they would have to wait an hour for the results. The patient chose, however, to return to his temporary lodgings in Bandzark before receiving the test results or any medical intervention.
Urgency swept over the community when the test confirmed Plasmodium falciparum malaria, a potentially deadly disease. Malaria experts wasted no time in travelling directly to Esmaeil’s lodgings to initiate life-saving treatment. But feeling a little better, the sailor had already left for the boat.
World Malaria Report 2017