Mosquito parasites now infecting more people in M'sia

KUALA LUMPUR: The medical fraternity has expressed concern over cases of monkey malaria infecting humans.
Universiti Malaya department of parasitology consultant, Datin Dr Indra Vythilingam, said the number of cases had increased significantly since 2004.
"We have seen a lot of people with monkey malaria," she told theSun today.
Indra said monkey malaria is caused by the mosquito parasite Plasmodium knowlesi, a macaque malaria parasite. (It circulates mainly among macaques that inhabit a wide area of Southeast Asia.)
She said monkey malaria originally infected only monkeys but had over the years jumped to humans.
"It has the potential to be fatal if not diagnosed and treated early."
She could not provide statistics on the number of victims nationwide as the authorities were still compiling the figures.
In 1992, the parasite only accounted for 1% of reported malarial infections in Malaysia, but cases had increased to 35% in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is taking measures to contain the spread of monkey malaria.
A spokesman said with Malaysia seeing an increase in malaria cases again and the emergence of monkey malaria, the ministry has formulated strategies to contain the spread of the disease.
These include setting up a surveillance system, an integrated vector management system, early detection and prompt treatment, preparedness and outbreak response, capacity-building and operational research.
"The strategies will be enforced until 2020 as the ministry aims to eradicate the disease by then," he said.
The spokesman said the ministry had also embarked on a public awareness campaign on malaria and its symptoms so that the public may seek treatment, as any delay may result in complications.
He said the ministry had been fighting malaria since 1967, managing to bring the number down from 12,705 in 2000 to 4,725 in 2010.
Dr Timothy William, a researcher at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah was quoted last year as saying that there is no conclusive evidence for the increase in monkey malaria cases, although he has ventured that deforestation may have something to do with it.
He has been reported as saying that most of the cases were recorded in rural areas, with victims mostly being plantation workers.