Colorized image of an Aedes mosquito. This species can transmit multiple diseases. Credit: NIAID
MANILA — Oriental Mindoro has been declared free from malaria, the Department of Health said Thursday.
"We wish to congratulate all of you for this milestone, but our work does not end here, as the gains achieved by the province must be maintained to prevent re-establishment of transmission through several strategies," DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a statement.
The province has completed the requirements stated in Department Circular No. 2021-0249, which provides for the guidelines declaring provinces as malaria-free, the DOH said.
The declaration was also recommended by the National Malaria Elimination and Control Technical Working Group, it added.
According to the World Health Organization, malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
In 2021, there were an estimated 247 million cases of malaria worldwide, the WHO said. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 619,000 in 2021.
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