Over 640 people of both Thai and Burmese nationals have been found ill with malaria in the latest outbreak in the southern province of Ranong.
The Public Health Office of Ranong revealed that the accumulated number of malaria-infected patients since 1 January 2010 had reached 644. Out of this number, 61% are Thai while the rest are Burmese. However, no casualties have been reported.
A health personnel in Ranong said that malaria patients could be found throughout the year but the disease usually spreads heavily during the rainy season. Medical teams have been dispatched to risky areas in the province to provide blood test and prescribe medication to those infected free of charge in order to control the spread.
Teams of disease controlling unit have been dispatched to spray houses with disinfectant and to encourage people to protect themselves against malaria.
The suppression however faces some difficulties as Burmese workers living in risky areas along the Thai-Burmese border are frequent migrants. The weather condition and southern terrains also favor the reproduction of the malaria transmitter, Anopheles mosquito. People are advised to seek blood checks at district disease-control units if they have high fever.
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