More Malaria Cases Confirmed: WHO sends mosquito nets to Zambales town

ANGELES CITY — The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent mosquito nets for the residents of remote, malaria-stricken communities in Subic, Zambales as the number of cases continued to rise.

Dr. Rhodora Cruz, regional coordinator for malaria of the Department of Health (DOH), told The STAR that 65 mosquito nets from WHO were distributed yesterday to Aeta families in remote Sitio Gala in Barangay Aniwang sa Katihan, Subic town.

"We have confirmed a total of 27 cases in that mountainous village," Cruz said.

The number rose from only eight last Wednesday, said Dr. Leonardo Afable, Subic municipal health officer.

While malaria is known to be endemic in some areas in Subic town, Cruz said the number of cases reported in Sitio Gala was "unusual" since none was reported there in the past five years.

Twenty-four other malaria cases were confirmed in Barangay Cawag, where a 10-year-old girl died of celebral malaria last weekend, Afable said.

Cruz, however, clarified that the girl’s was the only confirmed case of cerebral malaria, where infected red cells obstruct the blood vessels in the brain.

She said more studies are being conducted to find out what type of malaria the other patients are suffering from considering that there are four types of malaria.

Cruz’s team trekked to Sitio Gala yesterday morning to bring prophylaxis or preventive medication for residents still unafflicted by malaria.

She said another team of health workers went to the village ahead of them to administer anti-malarial drugs to the patients and distribute the WHO-donated mosquito nets to the residents.

"It takes about 10 to 14 days for the malaria parasite to incubate in the body from the time the victim is bitten by the anopheline mosquito which is its carrier," she said.

Cruz advised early treatment as soon as malaria symptoms such as fever, chills, pain in joints and headache manifest.

She said DOH and municipal health officials have been combing affected areas in Barangays Cawag and Aniwang sa Katihan to track down the breeding places of the anopheline mosquitoes.

She said the "movement of some residents" could have triggered the malaria cases in Sitio Gala.

"It is possible that a resident who got the infection in another area transmitted malaria through mosquitoes in Gala, and so there was re-emergence," she said.

"Like all other mosquitoes, the anophelines breed in water and their sensitivity to insecticides is also highly variable. It is hard to control these mosquitoes, especially in remote, mountainous areas. We are in a tropical country which are favorable to malaria mosquitoes," Afable said.

Pointing out that anopheline mosquitoes usually bite at night, he advised Subic folk to use mosquito nets when sleeping and avoid going near swamps or pools of water.

Dr. Yolando Oliveros, director of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the malaria cases in Subic town as well as in Tupi, South Cotabato are still "within normal level" based on the cases last year.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Zambales and South Cotabato are among the 66 provinces where malaria is still endemic.

"We want to assure the public that we are keeping an eye on these areas and instituting preventive measures with the help of our local health teams so that we can bring down cases in the country," he said.

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that malaria affects about 300 million people worldwide and that between one million and 1.5 million people die from it every year. Malaria is now mainly confined to Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to Afable, malaria can normally be treated at home with oral medications and fluids but severe cases require intravenous infusion of anti-malarial drugs. Patients should drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration, he added. — With Sheila Crisostomo