About 30 malaria cases have been reported in the last month in Mansigyi Sub-township in Sagaing Region’s Banmauk Township according to the local Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) health authorities.
Banmauk Township is controlled by the SNA, an ethnic armed organisation (EAO) that is not currently fighting with the junta but has been fighting against the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and its allies. Healthcare in the township is provided by the SNA.
The highest number of malaria cases in Banmauk Township were recorded in Namaw Village with cases also being reported in the nearby villages of Nantkhint and Nantma, according to senior health officials from Mansigyi Regional Hospital.
Sayar Kyaw, the head of the SNA health department, said: "There was a brief rain in early April, and after that, malaria cases began to rise. About 30 people in the villages around Mansigyi have been infected. We’ve to manage the treatment with our own resources and capabilities.”
Only the western part of Banmauk Township was screened for malaria cases and all of the 30 reported cases came from there. The actual number of malaria cases in all of Banmauk Township is likely to be higher.
The current malaria infections in Mansigyi are caused by the Plasmodium vivax (PV) strain, which usually causes less severe symptoms than the deadlier Plasmodium falciparum strain but can still, in some cases, lead to severe disease and death. It can affect people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
Because there is no malaria prophylactic medication, such as Chloroquine, available to be distributed in Banmauk Township, health officials are concentrating on treating people once they have contracted the disease.
Sayar Kyaw said: “We're getting ready to roll out education programs about malaria in the communities. We've thought about ways to put prevention measures in place, but so far, we haven't been able to implement them. Right now, our main priority is treating those who are already infected.”
Last year there was an outbreak of the more severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria strain across Banmauk Township and there was no proper medication to treat the symptoms.
Banmauk Township is one of the townships with the highest incidence of malaria in Myanmar. According to regional government health department data, though in recent years, until the 2021 coup, the number of cases had been dropping each year.
The township recorded roughly 3,000 malaria cases in 2016, around 2,000 in 2017, about 1,700 in 2018, around 800 in 2019, approximately 600 in 2020, and about 300 cases by June 10, 2021. Unfortunately , due to fighting in the area, it was impossible to record the number of malaria cases in Banmauk Township during 2022 and 2023, but collection of that data has now resumed.
