FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Severe malaria strain detected in Myanmar

Severe malaria strain detected in Myanmar

YANGON

There are five kinds of severe malaria – Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium knowlesi. Outbreaks of Plasmodium falciparum commonly occur frequently in Myanmar. Of Myanmar’s 330 townships, 284 are especially prone to outbreaks of severe malaria. Myanmar has more than 200,000 malaria patients every year.

“Although malaria outbreaks have declined in Myanmar, the disease still occurs in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region. In Rakhine State, more than 30,000 people out of a total of 200,000 suffered from severe malaria last year. Similarly, there were more than 30,000 malaria patients out of over 100,000 in Sagaing Region. However, major cities like Yangon and Mandalay report no malaria incidents. The Health Ministry aims to announce Myanmar as a malaria-free region in 2030,” said Dr Aye Mon Mon Kyaw, an assistance director at the Public Health Department in Yangon Region.

Myanmar is now drawing and implementing anti-malaria projects in an effort to prevent malaria-related deaths.

 

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