Drug-resistant malaria virus found in Myanmar

Reported by Ei Thinza Kyaw+Htwe Hsan Aung Edited by Soe Tint

An artemisinin-resistant malaria virus was discovered Taninthayi and Bago regions of Myanmar, according to the reports from the celebration of World Malaria Day 2012. So, preventive measures are being taken against the spread of virus not only in those regions but also in Mon and Kayin states. The reason behind the spread of such virus in those regions includes several factors such as being located in the border area with the problem of artemisinin-resistant malaria, influxes of migrant workers, mining work operations and easy access to malaria drugs. In the areas with drug-resistant malaria, regular prevention tasks are being implemented while other measures are being taken such as carrying out blood tests on migrant workers at the border gates, providing mosquito nets by entrepreneurs and providing portable treated mosquito nets by the malaria control department and conducting educative training courses. Moreover, it is learnt that the health ministry and local and international organizations have taken steps to apply combination treatment instead of using artemisinin alone and to effectively prevent the virus from spreading. Myanmar has as many as 500,000 malaria cases and about 1000 people die of the disease every year. In 1990, the initial year of the UN Millennium Development Goals, in Myanmar, 24 people out of 1,000 were infected with malaria while the mortality rate was about 13 out of 100,000. But in 2011, about 10 people out of 1000 caught malaria and the mortality rate about one out of 100,000.  According to the data of 2010, some 216 million people were infected with malaria in the world and about 650,000 died of the disease. The countries of the Southeast Asia region had 2.4 million cases and 2,426 people were killed.     Ref:eversion-news-eleven