Malaria health alert in Sucre, Monagas and Delta Amacuro

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Health and safety officers in Delta Amacuro, Sucre and Monagas States have held an joint emergency meeting to assess a sudden and drastic increase in malaria. 

• 113 persons have been registered with the disease in the short space of one week, meriting the issuing of a health alert and efforts to stem further rises. 

The authorities suggest that people traveling during the Easter vacation could have been in some way responsible for the outbreak for failing to attend outpatients for an anti-malaria shot and medicine. 

In a break down of the advance of the disease there have been recorded 157 cases in Delta Amacuro since the Easter vacation with 44 in the last week. Sucre has registered 67 persons infected in one week and Monagas 2 last week,  despite having accumulated 100 cases ... the last 2 victims were visitors from Sucre.