Malaria Emergency Declared on Lombok.

[Vanhelsing]

Image. Jakarta Post

With many seeking refuge in open fields too frightened to return indoors after the earthquakes, a Malaria outbreak has occurred on the island. With the wet season approaching it's feared the disease will be hard to contain.

Women and children are among the 128 people found to have been infected with malaria, Rahman Sahnan Putra, the chief of the West Lombok Health Agency, told Reuters by telephone.

"It's an extraordinary occurrence of malaria," Putra said, confirming that an emergency had been declared.

Full https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...clares-health-emergency-over-malaria-10724620

 

[jstar]

The first malaria treatment ( artemether/lumefantrine ) specifically developed for newborns and young babies weighing between 2 and 5 kilo has been officially approved. This is reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the eve of World Malaria Day on Saturday, April 25.

Children under the age of five are at particular risk. They represent 75% of malaria deaths.

Until now, babies with malaria were treated with drugs intended for older children, which increased the risk of dosage errors, side effects and toxicity.