Mosquito

Cambodia has reported 7,668 cases of malaria in the first nine months of 2020, a 70-per cent drop from 25,499 over the same period in 2019.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng told Xinhua on Wednesday that “among the reported cases, there have been no deaths.’’

Bunheng added that the kingdom has achieved zero death from malaria three years earlier than the self-imposed target.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, which is often found in rainy seasons and mostly happens in the forest and mountainous provinces.

Bunheng said that to avoid being bitten by malaria-carrying mosquitoes, people living in malaria risk areas should sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets all the time.

At a malaria event in western Kampong Speu province on Tuesday, Huy Rekol, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, said Cambodia was committed to eliminating malaria cases by 2025.

Huy said to achieve that, the Southeast Asian nation would need the budget of approximately 140 million dollars for the next five years.