Manila, Philippines – Out of 81 provinces, Palawan is the only province that is not yet free of malaria, according to the Department of Health.
“At this current time, 80 out of the 81 provinces in the country are all malaria-free already. Iisa nalang po at ‘yun ang Palawan,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing on Tuesday, February 7.
Vergeire also said that Oriental Mindoro, Rizal, Aurora and Cotabato were all declared free from malaria since last year.
The health official said that the criteria is mostly influenced by the absence of local transmission in a certain area.
“Ang criteria nito is the absence of local transmission of malaria for the past 5 years,” Vergeire said.
Malaria is caused by parasites that enter your body through the bite of an infected mosquito. This sometimes fatal disease happens usually in hot and humid places, like Palawan.
If it isn’t treated, malaria can cause severe health problems such as seizures, brain damage, trouble breathing, organ failure and death.
Its symptoms usually appear 10 days to one month after the person was infected. Depending on the type of parasite, symptoms can be mild. In some cases, people don’t feel sick for up to a year after the mosquito bite. Parasites can sometimes live in the body for several years without causing symptoms.
DOH said that they are closely working with the Palawan Provincial Government to create special measures to effectively stamp out the disease.