& Fitness DOH notes clustering of malaria cases in Puerto Princesa barangay

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

The Department of he alth (DOh ) s aid that there is a reported clustering of Malaria cases in Barangay Irawan, Puerto Princesa City, which started last April 26, 2023. This as the Philippine News Agency reported that the World h e alth Organization (W h O) has expressed concern over this surge in malaria cases in Palawan.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne, as well as a blood-borne, disease.

The cases were detected from April 26 to June 30, 2023 having common signs and symptoms of headaches, dizziness, body malaise, fever, and epigastric pain.

As of July 5, 2023, all cases had recovered.

Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucio Bayron said Monday, July 24, that a W h O delegation had visited the city to assess the reported outbreak accompanied by DO h representatives. Bayron explained that the visitors from W h O w ere particularly concerned over the 31 malaria cases recorded in Barangay Irawan over the three months.

“Malaria is still more prevalent in Southern Palawan municipalities. h o wever, while in the past we have seen a steady decline in malaria cases in the city, not it seeks to be rising again,” he said.

Malaria management assessment

A CCO r D IN g t o Puerto Princesa City h e alth Office chief Dr. r i c Panganiban, the W h O d elegation came to assess the malaria management situation not only in the city but also in the entire province, given that Palawan is the only area in the Philippines with reported cases. h e p ointed out that because of the C h O ’s swift response to the 31 cases of Irawan, all the patients managed to recover from the tropical disease carried by mosquitoes.

“The target is to eliminate malaria or achieve zero malaria cases in the long terms. In Mimaropa, it is well known that Palawan contributes the highest cases of malaria. The W h O d elegation are here to suggest how to win the fight. They also know about the cases in Irawan and they are aware that we had cases in June,” Panganiban said. Although malaria can be fatal, it is now also largely preventable through prophylactic medication.

Most cases are heavily concentrated in Africa at present, but the disease also still occurs throughout the Middle e a st; South, e a st, and Southeast Asia; Oceania; and Latin America.

Cause

M

A LA r IA i s caused by several species of the parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans through the mosquito Anopheles. These mosquitoes usually bite at night but can also bite during early evening or morning.

At environmental temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius, Plasmodium falciparum (the species known to cause severe malaria) is unable to complete its growth cycle in the Anopheles mosquito, and thus cannot be transmitted to humans.

This explains why most cases of malaria occur in the warmer parts of the world. h owever, because Plasmodium lives in the red blood cells, infected people can thus also transmit malaria to other people through blood transfusion, organ donation, sharing of syringes or needles, and from mother to infant before or during childbirth.

Symptoms

A LT hOugh s ymptoms can appear as early as seven days or as late as one year after infection, most people experience symptoms between ten days to four weeks after infection.

Typical symptoms resemble a flu-like illness, including fever, chills, headache and muscle aches, and tiredness.

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, and anemia can also occur.

Malaria is also distinguishable for its “fever cycles” (a combina -