The health ministry yesterday confirmed two new cases of malaria in the Great Bay area of St Elizabeth and said that they were connected to a person who had recently visited a malaria-endemic country in Latin America.

Dr Michael Coombs, regional technical advisor for the Southern Regional Health Authority, told the Sunday Observer that the types of malaria parasites noticed in the St Elizabeth cases were different from the cases discovered in Kingston.

“There are different types of parasites that cause malaria. The type of parasite found in the St Elizabeth cases is different from those that were found in Kingston.” said Dr Coombs. “There is no evidence that the cases we are seeing in St Elizabeth are similar to those found in Kingston.”

Coombs also said that measures were already in place to bring the situation in the Great Bay area under control, and to prevent any further outbreaks. He attributed this in part to the continual recurrence of imported cases of malaria to the area.

“For years now, we’ve had sporadic cases of malaria in some of the south coast parishes, including St Elizabeth,” said Coombs. “We’ve had what you call sporadic imported cases, and those are cases that really were originating in Central America. and that has been going on for years now. Even before the situation in Kingston, we had a programme to deal with the vector and other vectors. But since the outbreak in Kingston, we have strengthened that, as has happened across the island, including for the parish of St Elizabeth.

“In all of that we are re-doubling our efforts. We have no shortage of drugs. We also have no shortage of supplies to control the breeding sites for the mosquitoes, we have additional mosquito workers. We have not really identified any serious gaps and also we’re fully supported by the Ministry of Health at the national level,” Coombs told the Sunday Observer.

According to the press release issued by the MOH, house-to-house visits will also be conducted in the Great Bay area to speedily identify any other cases. It also stated that a search and destroy thrust aimed at adult Anopheles mosquitoes and their larvae has been launched.

Meanwhile, Coombs also stated that with the help of the police, persons arriving in the island on cruise ships were being screened for malaria.

“We have been screening persons who arrive on these ships along the coastline to make sure that they are not coming here with the parasite, or if they have them that they are treated, [and] the police have been involved here,” he said.

Coombs, however, stated that their efforts faced a serious challenge from what he claimed was the easy access to our borders gained by Central American nationals.

“One of the challenges along the south coast, including St Elizabeth, has to do with our borders, and this is something that the authorities will have to address,” said Coombs. “I know it is a difficult thing to deal with, but as long as we have [people] being able to just enter from places in Central America, where [they] have the parasite, then we’re going to be at risk.”

This concern was echoed by Jamaica Labour Party caretaker for the south-west St Elizabeth constituency Chris Tufton.

“Being a fishing area, residents are exposed to foreigners involved in the fishing industry, in particular Hondurans and Nicaraguans,” said Tufton. “There is also less frequent interaction of Colombians and Haitians. Some of these nationalities represent high-risk groups for malaria transmission. It is important that the Government set up a monitoring mechanism to track foreigners coming into the area and locals travelling to these destinations,” Tufton said in a press release.

In the meantime, Coombs was unable to confirm that the cases in St Elizabeth involved an elderly woman and a female student. He verified, however, that the two infected persons had not travelled out of the area in recent times, and also that they were confirmed last Thursday.