TRAT, May 24 (TNA) – Ten people were diagnosed with malaria caused by Plasmodium knowlesi parasites which are transmitted from macaques to humans.
Trat governor Chamnanwit Terat said the patients consisted of eight people in Koh Chang district and two in Bo Rai district. All of them either lived near forests or worked in forests and already fully recovered.
The ten people were advised to repel mosquitoes which could otherwise bite them and spread the disease to other people, he said.
Local officials would share information about the disease with general people and tourists to prevent them from panicking, the governor said.
Earlier the Department of Disease Control warned people who worked closely with macaques or lived near forests of this strain of malaria. It reported that 70 people were infected with it from Oct 1 last year to March 31 this year and most patients were in Ranong, Songkhla and Trat provinces.
The department advised the people who developed a high fever and headache and sweated heavily to see a doctor and seek a blood test for malaria immediately because early diagnosis and treatment can prevent complications and fatality. (TNA)
