Shanghai health authorities reiterate anti-malaria task

Shanghai has effectively brought malaria under control and achieved malaria termination standard in the nation in 2016.

However, risks of imported malaria remain due to the huge human flow and its subsequent spread locally. And with a warming climate, the anti-malaria task remains a challenging work, local health authorities said on Wednesday ahead of Friday's National Malaria Day.

Shanghai is closely cooperating with relevant governmental bodies and has teamed up with Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Hunan provinces as well as Chongqing Municipality to establish a southeast China anti-malaria system for joint infectious disease prevention and control.

Medical facilities are also required to enhance professional training of medical staff to improve their ability to monitor and treat malaria and deal with imported cases in time to prevent their secondary spread. Health education for people going to or returning from malaria epidemic regions has also been enhanced, the Shanghai Health Commission said.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. Mostly found in tropical countries, it is preventable and curable.

The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person.

Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening. Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache. Severe symptoms include fatigue, seizures, and difficulty in breathing.

It can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and with medicines. Treatments can stop mild cases from getting worse.

Malaria was prevalent in China in the last century and Shanghai was one of the 24 epidemic regions. After a 70-year effort, China received a malaria-free certification from WHO – a notable feat for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually in the 1940s, the organization said.