The person who contributed greatly to the elimination of malaria in Ha Tinh

With nearly 40 years of experience in the profession, Dr. Doan Van Thinh (Ha Tinh Center for Disease Control) has continuously strived to stay close to the grassroots with the goal of eliminating malaria and protecting people's health and lives.

Ha Tinh is identified as a locality with a very high risk of malaria transmission. The reason is partly due to the climate being favorable for the development of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. On the other hand, Ha Tinh people often go to work in areas where malaria is endemic, such as the Central Highlands provinces, Laos and African countries. Therefore, the work of preventing, controlling and eliminating malaria has always been of interest and focus to the health sector. The work of doctors and nurses on this "front" is also very difficult and arduous.

Doctor Doan Van Thinh (second from left) assesses mosquito density during a monitoring trip to the facility. File photo.

In the journey of carrying out that arduous and difficult task, Doctor Doan Van Thinh - Head of the Department of Parasitology - Entomology (CDC Ha Tinh) has always been the pioneer leading the staff in the department to effectively prevent, control and eliminate malaria in the localities.

Having accompanied Dr. Thinh on several trips to catch mosquitoes and monitor vectors in many remote mountainous districts, I was very impressed by his working spirit. Although he was a department leader, when he returned to the base, he did not hesitate to take on any task.

Dr. Thinh always sets up light traps himself, goes into buffalo pens, cow pens, bushes, and bushes to assess mosquito density, and even takes the initiative to use himself as bait for mosquitoes to bite and catch mosquitoes. These mosquito catching trips often last all night, but he always accompanies the staff in the department.

When the mosquito catching mission is over, Dr. Thinh and his colleagues quickly go to the testing labs to analyze and identify mosquitoes and parasites without any rest.

Doctor Doan Van Thinh directly directs the testing and identification of mosquitoes and parasites in the labs.

Sharing about his duties, Dr. Doan Van Thinh said: “Staying close to the grassroots, propagating and monitoring the epidemic situation to direct the implementation of malaria prevention and control activities is normal for every medical staff. Going to work early and coming back late, facing many dangers and risks when returning to remote, mountainous areas is also very familiar. The most important thing is that when we make such efforts, we will prevent, control and eliminate malaria, not letting people die from this terrible disease.”

With the efforts of Dr. Thinh and his colleagues, on average each year, the whole province has collected and tested nearly 30,000 blood slides, thereby early detecting patients with malaria parasites to guide treatment.

For many years, Ha Tinh has not recorded any deaths due to malaria and no malaria outbreaks have occurred in the area. The rate of malaria patients decreased by 65.3%, and malaria parasites decreased by 84.6% compared to 2018.

In 2020, the province was recognized as having eliminated malaria. Since then, Dr. Thinh has continued to lead and direct the staff in the department to maintain and manage malaria surveillance and prevention, especially in high-risk areas.

Doctor Thinh (3rd from left) was honored and rewarded by the Provincial Center for Disease Control for his exemplary role in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and lifestyle in 2023.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Doan Van Thinh is also passionate about scientific research and has many applied topics that have brought high efficiency in the prevention and control of malaria and infectious diseases caused by mosquito bites. Typical topics include the provincial-level topic: "Determining the distribution of dengue fever vector populations and some related factors in Ha Tinh province"; the grassroots-level topic: "Evaluating the residual effectiveness of some mosquito-killing chemicals used in residual spraying and impregnating mosquito nets to prevent malaria".

With over 40 years of experience in malaria prevention and control, Dr. Doan Van Thinh has always upheld a sense of responsibility and set an example. Regardless of day or night, rain or shine, as a leader, Dr. Thinh has always directly performed professional tasks.

With a proactive, responsible and creative spirit, over the years, Dr. Thinh has gathered and united the staff in the department, effectively implementing the task of preventing and fighting malaria and diseases related to insects and parasites in the whole province.

Master Nguyen Huu Thanh

Deputy Director of CDC Ha Tinh

Quang Hoa

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/y-te/nguoi-gop-cong-lon-trong-viec-loai-tru-benh-sot-ret-o-ha-tinh/248587.htm