Tyrone Reid, Enterprise Reporter

Officials from the Ministry of Health are busy combing through sections of Kingston and St. Andrew in a desperate bid to ascertain whether four recently identified cases of the potentially fatal malaria disease were imported or contracted locally.

While a statement from the ministry provided little information on how the individuals were infected, sources close to The Gleaner have revealed that no one has died and that the first case was uncovered on November 6 while the last case was discovered yesterday.

The first infected person was treated and discharged from a Kingston hospital earlier this week. The sources also added that the cases are clustered and were detected in a defined geographical area.

As a result of the scare, Health Minister Horace Dalley has instructed that a number of health centres be opened in Kingston and St. Catherine over the weekend to facilitate persons who experience malaria-like symptoms. The symptoms include fever, flu-like symptoms with chills, headaches, muscle ache and tiredness. It is unclear whether the cases of malaria that have been uncovered are mild or severe.

Dr. Kenneth Baugh, Opposition Spokesman on Health and the Environment seems to be making a link between the disease and the immigration of Haitians to the island. He said the issue was raised in Parliament and the House was assured that meticulous care was being taken to prevent local spread and to treat the cases identified effectively.

"We were assured that no local transmission had taken place. It is now suspected that individuals may have escaped attention and mingled with other communities thereby leading to local infections.

However, Mr. Dalley also gave his assurance that national health would be protected by any means necessary. "All will be done to safeguard the health of the nation," he said. The Minister also called on communities to cooperate with the health workers as they carry out inspections and vector control activities in their areas.

Late last year at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Canada, in what may now be deemed a prescient warning, the World Health Organisation forewarned health authorities to brace for an increase in infectious diseases and illnesses, such as malaria, due to extreme weather conditions which were expected to occur as a result of climate change.

Late yesterday the Ministry of Health revealed that it had identified some cases of the deadly disease.

"The Ministry of Health has recently identified four cases of malaria in Kingston and St. Catherine. A thorough and intensive investigation is now underway to establish whether these cases have been imported or contracted locally," read the statement.

"The measures being undertaken include house-to-house surveys in the affected areas to identify cases, elimination of mosquito breeding sites and fogging with insecticide in specific areas."

The Health Ministry emphasised that it was not taking the discoveries lightly. "The Ministry of Health is taking these cases very seriously as Jamaica eradicated endemic Malaria over 50 years ago, and has only experienced a number of imported cases through visitors from countries with malaria," the statement continued.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health is advising that "all persons with recent fever, and/or on and off fever should see their doctor or visit the nearest health centre in order to rule out possible malaria infection".

The Health Ministry also urged and encouraged doctors to be vigilant in diagnosing the disease in their patients. "Doctors and other health providers need to be alert to rule out malaria in patients presented with fever," he said.

The health centres that will be opened are:

Kingston

Maxfield Park Health Centre

Hagley Park Health Centre

Comprehensive Health Centre

St. Catherine

St. Jago Health Centre

Sydenham Health Centre

Malaria is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. The symptoms of malaria include fever, flu-like symptom with chills, headaches, muscle ache and tiredness.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. Left untreated, infected persons may develop severe complications and die. According to the World Health Organisation, each year 350 million-500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one million people die, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria typically is found in warmer regions of the world where the higher temperatures allow the Anopheles mosquito to thrive. Malaria parasites, which grow and develop inside the mosquito, need warmth to complete their growth before they are mature enough to be transmitted to humans.