Cambodia to provide anti-mosquito nets to counter malaria

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua): The Cambodian government will soon dispatch to the public 1,500 nets soaked with mosquito- killing liquid amid rising danger of malaria during the rainy season, national media said on Sunday.

The nets will be received by the local people in provinces of Battambang, Pailin, Kampot and Pursat, where malaria used to have higher infection rates than other provinces of the kingdom, Chinese-language newspaper the Jian Hua Daily quoted government officials as saying.

Such nets proved to be very effective in the past years to contain spread of the disease, which is mainly transmitted through biting of Tiger Mosquitoes, they said.

Two million out of the 14 million population of Cambodia face danger of malaria, and the government prepares to allocate one such net for each two persons in the rainy season, they said.

Therefore, one million nets soaked with mosquito-killing drugs will be needed this year, they added.

In 2008, some 50,000 Cambodians were infected with malaria and over 100 of them died, according to official figures.