CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—A village in Subic town in Zambales, which accounted for 90 percent of the 2,733 malaria cases in Central Luzon in 2009, has shown big progress in ridding itself of the mosquito-borne disease.
Barangay Cawag has brought down the number of malaria cases in Subic from 2,277 in 2009 to 664 in 2010 and 149 in 2011, according to Dr. Rhodora Cruz, head of a Department of Health (DOH) unit that tracks down cases of infectious diseases in Central Luzon.
Cruz oversees the “Full-Scale Focused Campaign against Malaria,” which the DOH began implementing in 2009 in Subic. “More than
90 percent of Subic cases come from Barangay Cawag,” she said.
Straddling the coast of Subic Bay and enclosed by forests, Cawag is northwest of Subic Bay Freeport and near the shipbuilding yard of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines Inc.
During the construction of the Hanjin shipyard from 2006 to 2008, 58 workers fell ill due to malaria, DOH records showed.
Cawag comprised 92 percent of malaria cases in Zambales. From a high of 2,341 in 2009, the number of malaria cases in the province dropped to 861 in 2010 and 153 in 2011.
“The figures have been steadily declining,” Cruz said.
Malaria in Cawag is being licked because of early diagnosis and treatment, active case finding, fumigation of houses, use of insecticide-treated nets, house-to-house information campaign and local government efforts, Cruz said, citing assessments made by local leaders, municipal health workers and families of victims.
Cawag tallied two confirmed deaths in 2011 and said malaria continued to be endemic to the place. This suggests the need to continue health and sanitation efforts there, she said.
Cawag, she said, could be a model for malaria control in other villages. In Central Luzon, the number of malaria cases fell sharply from 1,134 in 2010 to 342 in 2011. From January to April this year, DOH listed 49 cases in the region. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon