Tuesday August 5, 2008
Fast-growing malaria strain found in highlands
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: A strain of the malaria virus that multiplies rapidly has been discovered in Sarawak and the health authorities are very worried.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said teams of malaria experts from the State Health and Medical Services Department discovered this rapidly-spreading mosquito-borne disease when investigating the malaria outbreak in the Bario highlands deep in interior northern Sarawak.
"The outbreak in Bario was caused by a fast-growing strain that multiplies rapidly within 24 hours instead of the usual 48 hours or 72 hours.
"This is something that we (state health authorities) are very worried about. Because it spreads very fast, it can attack the body organs rapidly, even the brain," said Dr Chan, who is also Sarawak Disaster Relief Committee chairman.
Dr Chan said yesterday that this malaria strain was "not a normal thing in this state" and expressed worry that no one knew how many areas were infected by this strain.
"The health teams deployed in Bario are now collecting as much data as possible on the latest situation in the affected regions.
"We want to accurately identify those places infected by this fast-spreading strain," he said.
The Star last week highlighted the malaria outbreak in the Bario highlands after 21 Penans were floored by high fever and had to be flown out to hospitals in Miri and Marudi.
Initially, two Penan settlements – Urur Dalan and Semirian – were found to be infected. The outbreak then spread outside of Bario and hit Long Jikitan, a settlement located nearer to Miri.
Dr Chan said he was hopeful that the same drugs used to treat previous malaria cases could deal with this fast-spreading strain.
