More malaria cases in remote Zambales villages

SUBIC, Zambales — Malaria continues to stalk residents of the remote village of Cawag here as 10 more cases were reported the other day, health officials said.

Thirty-two other residents of neighboring Sitio Gala in Barangay Aniwang sa Katihan were also found afflicted with the mosquito-borne ailment.

Dr. Rhodora Cruz, Central Luzon coordinator for malaria of the Department of Health (DOH), said mass blood tests conducted by medical technologists in Sitio Gala showed that 32 of its 234 residents were suffering from malaria. Some are still undergoing treatment, while others have recovered.

Cruz said she received reports Wednesday night that 10 more residents of Sitio Nagpulong in Cawag have contracted malaria. Medical teams have been dispatched to the area to treat the victims.

Last week, Dr. Leonardo Afable, municipal health officer, reported 24 malaria cases in Cawag, including 10-year-old Rosalinda Castillo, so far the only fatality.

"Malaria is curable and everything is under control. Patients readily survive depending on the species of the malaria parasite and their immune system," Cruz said.

She said Castillo was found to be malnourished and suffering from intestinal parasitism. The girl’s two younger sisters, also hospitalized for malaria, were similarly infected with intestinal parasites.

Massive spraying of anti-mosquito chemicals approved by the World Health Organization is being undertaken in the affected areas, Cruz said.

While malaria is known to be endemic in Cawag, this is the first time that malaria has been reported in Sito Gala in the last five years.

"Our findings indicate that the index victim in Sitio Gala contracted malaria in Cawag," she said.

Cruz said health workers have been combing affected areas in Cawag and Aniwang sa Katihan to track down the breeding places of anopheline mosquitoes, which have been spreading malaria in the two villages.

"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 the locals to use mosquito nets when sleeping and avoid going near swamps or pools of water.

The WHO has provided families in Sitio Gala with mosquito nets.