Health authorities in Negros Oriental are relentlessly monitoring the arrival of persons here from areas where malaria is endemic to prevent a re-introduction of the disease, an official said Wednesday.
Noel Ferrero, Sanitation Inspector IV of the Provincial Health Office, said during a “Kapihan sa PIA” forum here that while Negros Oriental remains free from malaria, the presence of the carrier Anopheles mosquito has been detected in some areas of the province.
Ferrero said the movement of people going in and out of Negros Oriental “would be a factor that malaria would be reintroduced to the Province.”
Malaria tests are being done for deep-sea fishermen departing from or returning to the province as they are vulnerable to the disease, as well as foreigners and other people coming from countries in Africa where malaria is endemic, he said.
The Department of Health has declared Negros Oriental as malaria-free since 2012 and to date, no indigenous cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported.
“When somebody comes to the province and manifests symptoms of malaria, there is a probability that he can infect the Anopheles mosquito and thereby transmit the disease to the locality,” Ferrero said.
He noted that before the declaration of Negros Oriental as malaria-free, cases were reported in Basay, Bayawan, Sta. Catalina, Siaton, Sibulan, San Jose, Amlan, Tanjay, Pamplona, and Mabinay.
Mosquito vector mapping conducted by the PHO recently showed the presence of the Anopheles genus in Sibulan, Amlan, Mabinay, and Tanjay, he added.
Eradication of the Anopheles mosquitoes is difficult, as they are found in rural areas, unlike the dengue vector mosquitoes that are present in urban areas.
Ferrero said monitoring would continue without let-up as the Philippines targets to be malaria-free by 2030. (Judy F. Partlow)
