Government is expecting Jamaica to, in short order, be once again declared a non-endemic country for malaria, according to Health Minister Horace Dalley.

Minister Dalley told Parliament's Standing Finance Committee this week that a team from the United States-based Centres for Disease Control (CDC) would be arriving in Jamaica within two weeks to assess the country's response to the recent malaria outbreak.

He was responding to queries raised by Dr. Ken Baugh, Opposition spokesman on health.

Defined sections

Five months into the crisis, Jamaica has recorded just over 340 malaria cases. The problem has largely been confined to small, defined sections of Kingston and St. Catherine. Five were also detected in St. Elizabeth - four in Great Bay and the fifth (believed to have been imported) in Newell.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Dalley said the ministry had just confirmed the first case to be reported in four days. That case was reported in Westmoreland, but with a connection to an index area in Tivoli Gardens, Kingston, he said.

Despite the notable reduction in the incidence of new infections, the Health Minister expressed concern about the apparent resistance to all treatment in sections of Greenwich Town and one area in Tivoli Gardens.

Malaria is a disease which was eradicated in Jamaica in the early 1960s, only for it to return in late 2006. The most frequent symptoms include fever, flu-like illnesses including chills, headache, muscle aches, tiredness. Loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea may also occur.

Health officials have confirmed that the strain of malaria parasite found in the Great Bay area, (Plasmodium vivax), is different from that found in Kingston and St. Catherine (Plasmodium falciparum).

Meanwhile, today is being observed as World Health Day under the theme, "Invest in Health, Build a Safer Future".

In his message, Mr. Dalley said if Jamaica is to meet the millennium development goals, it must improve the capacity of its health systems to become resilient in the face of challenges.

"With many universal diseases such as malaria, AIDS and Avian Influenza still posing as serious challenges worldwide, this year's focus will allow countries such as ours to re-examine our health situation and develop plans of action as we formulate strategies to safeguard the health of the nation," he said.

Education remains critical

Mr, Dalley added: "Education remains critical to mobilise individuals to act in taking preventative measures for their own well-being. With Jamaica currently experiencing a malaria outbreak - having been malaria free for over 50 years, World Health Day will also afford an excellent opportunity to strengthen education initiatives in this regard."

Mr. Dalley said World Health Day brings matters of international health security to the fore by reminding that diseases such as malaria, AIDS and Avian Influenza cannot be geographically contained.

"The onus is on us to collectively chart the way into a safer future by investing in health," he said, charging civil groups and stakeholders to reduce the burden of disease by playing their part.