Some 35,710 malaria cases reported in Cambodia, killing 28 people in H1

Some 35,710 malaria cases had been reported in the first six months of this year, a 23 percent decrease compared with 46,360 cases at the same period last year, a report of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control showed Wednesday.

The report said that the death toll from the disease during the January-June period this year was 28 people, 10 percent drop from 31 deaths at the same period last year.

Char Meng Chuor, head of the center, said that the decrease was thanks to awareness campaigns and mosquito net distribution to the disease-prone groups of people.

Some 1.3 million mosquito nets have been distributing to vulnerable people in the third quarter (July-September) this year, he said.

Meanwhile, he explained that the death cases were due to the patients had sought private treatment and the disease could not be cured; instead, it got more serious. Finally, they were too late to be cured when they were admitted to state-owned health centers.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease. In Cambodia, the disease is often found in rainy season and mostly happens in border provinces, and forest and mountainous provinces.

The country sets its goal to completely eradicate the disease by 2025. To achieve this, it needs 20 million U.S. dollars a year.

In 2011, the country reported 62,690 cases of malaria, killing 98 people.