A total of 11 new cases of Malaria have been reported since the beginning of April, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.

According to a release from the ministry, two cases were reported between April 15 and 21, three the previous week while a total of six cases were reported between April 1-7. The ages of the affected persons range from 10 to 59.

Concerning the two new cases reported last week, the ministry said they were found in Denham Town and Greenwich Town – two of the areas in which the disease was first detected – and were caused by the plasmodium falciparum parasite which is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquitoe. The dates of onset were said to be April 4 and 9 respectively.

Yesterday, the ministry said it had been able to limit the spread of malaria to other parishes, noting that the four cases detected in St Elizabeth since January remained contained. The health ministry also pointed out that since the first case of malaria was reported last December, there have been seven imported cases originating from Sudan, India, Haiti, Honduras and Uganda.

Additionally, it said the number of positive samples continues to decline, explaining that the positivity rate of blood samples submitted to laboratories over the past weeks range between 0.7 and 1.8 per cent from a total of 884 sample tests conducted between April 1 to April 21.

Meanwhile, the ministry reiterated that it was in the process of seeking alternative insecticides to prevent further outbreaks after recent tests confirmed some resistance of the Anopheles albimanus mosquito taken from the Duhaney River to malathion insecticide, which it was hoping to use to eliminate the parasites.

The tests were conducted by consultants from the United States-based Centre for Disease Control.

“The Ministry of Health continues its thrust in the areas of intense active surveillance, vector control, public education and inter-sectoral collaboration in a concerted effort to end this outbreak, while precautionary measures are being taken to prevent the spread of malaria to other parishes,” the ministry, however, assured.