MIRI: A Miri-based senior doctor has raised the alarm on the possibility of malaria outbreak in Ulu Baram after two cases of the disease were reported recently.

Dr Roland Dom Mattu, chief medical officer of Columbia Asia Hospital Miri and former Limbang division health officer, urged that quick action must be taken by the health authorities to control and stop the infections to keep the people safe and not to scare away tourists from visiting the hinterlands.

“It is my hope that the health authorities make sure that the right advice is given to all the travellers to the rural areas,” he said.

Two of his relatives from Long Lellang tested positive in Miri for malaria infection recently and he advised travellers to the village or any rural area to be aware that they may have malaria if they develop fever.

Dr Roland, who was involved in government malaria control programme while serving as Limbang division medical officer, urged all those who have been in contact with residents of the said village or have been to the rural area recently to inform their doctor if they are experiencing fever.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, where mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache while severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures and difficulty in breathing.

Dr Roland believes the reemergence of malaria in the village may be brought by wild monkeys from the jungle to farms in the Bario highlands, saying this is serious concern as malaria transmission could also happen in other Kelabit villages.

He said the monkeys could be driven to move nearer to human settlements to forage for food in their gardens and farms due to loss of habitat caused by logging.

In April last year, former minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin, had warned that Malaysia is facing a new serious threat in the form of malaria, which saw an increase in zoonotic malaria infections due to aggressive land clearing for farming, which increased humananimal exposure.

Zoonotic malaria infections in the country had increased drastically from 376 cases in 2008 to 3,575 in 2021 and emerged as the leading cause of malaria deaths in Malaysia since 2017.

Miri Division health officer Dr Raviwharmman Packierisamy confirmed that a few cases were reported from Long Lellang that involved Plasmodium knowlesi (aka Monkey Malaria) and not the human malaria species that was eliminated several years ago.

“Human to human transmission does not occur in this zoonotic malaria variety.

“The source of that are long tailed monkeys (macaque), which are protected species under the Forestry Department and live in abundance in forests.

“Hence, it is very challenging to address and implement control measures among the monkeys,” he told The Borneo Post.

Dr Ravi clarified that the reported cases did not occur in the village but involved family members staying at their makeshift farm hut in their coffee garden.

“They slept in their farm hut without the use of mosquito net or insect repellents,” he said.

He said zoonotic malaria transmission occurs when individuals work in deep forests and these usually involve timber and forestry surveyors, workers, people who sleep at their farms, hunters or those involved in forest related activities.

It is my hope that the health authorities make sure that the right advice is given to all the travellers to the rural areas. Dr Roland Dom Mattu