Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) - The number of malaria cases recorded in Cambodia has increased significantly. According to the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, there was a 41 percent increase in cases last year. The country - which has become an epicenter for malaria - recorded 83,217 malaria-infected persons in 2009, from 58,887 the previous year, after a steep drop in the number of cases over the past several years. The mosquito-borne disease killed 279 people in 2009 from 209 in 2008. Several factors have contributed to the spike, including an earlier-than-usual rainy season, a late distribution of insecticide-impregnated bed nets, and internal migration to malaria-affected areas. Since 2004, the government has trained malaria workers in 1,300 villages to detect and treat malaria, so a greater number of patients are being properly diagnosed and recorded than in previous years. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the populations most affected are people who work in the forest. Those include soldiers and their families, plantation workers, and even workers at a hydroelectric plant in the west of the country. Cambodia in recent years has become one of the world's malaria focal points after authorities detected along the country's western border with Thailand a strain of the disease resistant to Artemisinin, one of the most effective drugs used to treat malaria. Compared to Vietnam or Thailand, the numbers of cases are still high. With the goal to eliminate malaria by 2025, the government and NGOs are continuing to train village malaria workers and to collect data on malaria patients who sought medical assistance from private clinics. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 27/04/2010)
