The Gyeonggi-do Institute of Health and Environment will conduct a mosquito surveillance project from April to October to prevent malaria infections.
The institute reported on the 31st that the primary malaria vector, the Chinese Anopheles mosquito (Anopheles sinensis), experiences a rapid increase in population from late May and peaks in July and August. As a proactive measure against malaria, changes in mosquito populations and Plasmodium infection status will be analyzed and used to establish control strategies.
Gyeonggi-do includes 20 of the 47 nationwide malaria risk areas and currently records the highest number of cases.
In fact, out of 659 reported malaria cases nationwide last year, 377 occurred in Gyeonggi-do, accounting for 57.2% of all reported cases.
Accordingly, Gyeonggi-do has been actively participating in the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s malaria re-elimination project since 2019.
The Institute of Health and Environment plans to install LED traps at 16 collection points across seven cities and counties in northern Gyeonggi-do?Paju, Gimpo, Goyang, Dongducheon, Uijeongbu, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon?from April to collect malaria vector mosquitoes and investigate infection with Plasmodium vivax, the causative agent of tertian malaria. The collected data will be provided to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and used for malaria outbreak alerts and control strategy development.
Malaria infection causes chills, fever, and sweating in 48-hour cycles, accompanied by symptoms such as headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle pain. Because symptoms are similar to those of the flu, diagnosis may be delayed. If suspicious symptoms appear after a mosquito bite, immediate medical consultation is necessary. It is important to avoid going out at night when mosquitoes are active, wear long clothing, and use mosquito nets when sleeping outdoors as proactive preventive measures.
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