Malaria in Aceh under control, aid group says

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Outbreaks of malaria in Aceh may be fewer than before the tsunami that made a half-million homeless, due to intense preventive programmes by aid workers, a British private aid group said on Friday.

Despite so many people living in squalid outdoor camps with pools of mosquito-breeding water everywhere, malaria may not be the problem it was first feared, said Manuel Lluberas, head of Mentor Initiative’s malaria control team in the Indonesian province.

"Considering the amount of exposure, I don’t think (the number of cases) will be any different than any other season. It could be comparable, it could be less. If we could keep it at the same level, that would be a success,” he told Reuters.

Malaria is endemic to Aceh as it is in virtually all areas throughout the tsunami-hit region except the Maldives.

Joaquin Canelas, the Mentor team leader in Aceh, said the group hoped to have fewer cases than in previous rainy seasons because of all the malaria prevention programmes being undertaken.

WHO WARNING

The World Health Organisation appealed on Friday for $67 million to battle what it said was an increased risk of deadly mosquito-born diseases such as malaria and dengue sweeping across Asian countries ravaged by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

With the rainy season starting, particularly in Indonesia and Sri Lanka - the two countries worst hit by the tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing around the Indian Ocean - a rise in cases can be expected at this time of year, it said.

Stagnant water pools left by the tsunami have created perfect conditions for mosquitos to multiply, said WHO malaria expert Dr. Jack Chow.

“At present, we are dealing with a lot of unknowns because of the violent environmental changes that have taken place here,” Chow said on visit to worst-hit Aceh, where 101,199 people are confirmed dead and 127,749 listed as missing.

Mentor said it has provided some 700 insecticide-treated tarpaulins for people living in shelters in the last few days, although Canelas said it was not easy to get people to switch from their old shelters.

Working with the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Mentor said is helping to design relocation centres and would also spray them in a manner that would kill every malaria-carrying mosquito for 6-8 months, Canelas said.

The group, which received $1.5 million from the British government for the work, has also deployed 150 people to spray every home in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

WHO is providing insecticide-treated bed nets, fogging machines and equipment to kill larvae, the U.N. said. 

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