We find the bickering between the Government and the Opposition over the number of blood samples remaining to be tested for malaria both unseemly and counterproductive.

Part of the problem, of course, is the not-so-subtle attempt by the Opposition and its leader, Bruce Golding, to gain political mileage over what is a potentially dangerous health problem. But the Opposition has been given purchase by the wearying and caricatured pomposity of Health Minister Horace Dalley.

The point we make is that there need not be a controversy over the number of blood samples outstanding for testing - whether they be the 1,000 now admitted by the Health Ministry or the 1,500 claimed by Mr. Golding. For we have confidence in the professional staff at the ministry, its commitment to its job and its experience and capacity to work through the issues. We are confident, too, that this team would be willing to call for outside help - which they did - should they require it and would speak out in the event that their political bosses sought to block their efforts.

So rather than this denial of Mr. Golding's number, and the ensuing debate generating reams of news column inches, Mr. Dalley could have defused the controversy by a simple statement that he did not know and focused the discourse on where it ought to be: that is, how all Jamaicans can work to lick this problem. For it is indeed, a problem, though not yet a crisis, that malaria has re-emerged in Jamaica, for now in one small area, 40 years after the island was declared malaria-free.

Of course, in today's world with the ease of travel and Jamaica's relatively open borders, it is easy for any disease to traverse the world, whether malaria, HIV/AIDS or bird flu. The real issue is how vigilant Jamaica is in containing the threats. This newspaper is concerned that the nation has been letting its guard down, or maybe more accurately, not aggressively keeping them up.

It says something that Jamaica has a life expectancy at the level of the developed world. The eradication of malaria was helped by modern medicine and a reasonably efficacious public health system.

Unfortunately, the public health system is showing cracks, not least in our weakness in public cleansing. We are often shamed by how garbage is strewn on the roadways; how verges are overgrown, how gullies and drains are blocked with debris and rubbish; and how stagnant water fills potholes in streets. We are surprised that others in authority appear not to notice and are not appalled by these things.

And the fact is that these are mostly cheap fixes, except for the fact that cronyism suggests that everything should be terribly expensive, when really what is required is commitment, honesty, energy and consistency of effort. The authorities, however, announce campaigns, engage for a short period and quickly abandon the programme.

Hopefully, having got over the politics, this malaria outbreak is a signal call to a sustained effort at cleaning up Jamaica.