Malaria cases down on Batam

Malaria cases down on Batam

BATAM ISLAND: Health authorities remain watchful for malaria
although reports indicate the disease has subsided over the past
five years.

Head of the Batam health office, Mawardi Badar, said the local
government is cooperating with neighboring Singapore to fight
malaria.

He said the government is set to make the fast developing
industrial island malaria-free.

Official statistics show that the number of people on Batam
infected with malaria has declined from 4,099 in 1989 to 1,100
people in April this year.

The number of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease also
dropped from 18 people in 1987 to 12 in 1988. There have been no
reported deaths since 1989, Antara reported. (pan)