Thailand launches campaign to eradicate malaria by 2021

BANGKOK, Dec.14 (Xinhua) -- Thailand has launched an anti-insect borne diseases campaign to eliminate dengue and malaria since October, expecting to drive out malaria by 2021, the public health ministry was quoted by local media as saying on Thursday.

The Department of Disease Control said on Wednesday at a seminar that the ministry has launched an anti-insect borne diseases campaign to eliminate dengue and malaria since October, expecting to drive out malaria by 2021 and reduce the number of dengue patients by 25 percent by then.

The department said the ministry can effectively monitor the disease by technologies and provide patients with treatments in time before the disease spreads. Meanwhile, laboratories are also set up to provide blood testing for people.

The ministry said that they have been trying to locate malaria-infected patients among high-risk groups, and provide them with treatments and follow-up cares. Indoor residual spraying and insecticide treated nets are offered.

Local reports said there are 13,971 malaria infections so far in 2017 in Thailand, declining 20 percent year-on-year. Forests and borders with Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao and Malaysia are high-risk areas, the reports said.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die.

The disease is widely spread in tropical and subtropical regions including Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The World Malaria report 2017 by the World Health Organization showed that there were 216 million new cases of malaria worldwide in 2016, slightly higher than that of 2015. Enditem