Published on May 13, 2005

A recent death caused by a rare strain of malaria in the South has triggered an official alert regarding the possibility of infection, particularly around the Thai-Burmese border areas.

People who have travelled into the jungle, especially around the Burmese border, are advised to have a blood test if they experience fever within two weeks of their trip.

Vanitch Borisuth, 40, died of malaria yesterday morning after being treated for only two days at Chumphon Hospital.

His blood sample tested positive for an acute type of malaria not seen in the province for the past decade, said Dr Chaiyasombat Chaisawang, director of the vector-borne disease control centre in the province. Vanitch’s condition was extremely severe when he arrived at the hospital, the doctor said. The disease had rapidly spread through his body and significant numbers of white blood cells had been destroyed as result of the high pH levels caused by the infection.

Chaiyasombat insisted that this severe strain of malaria was thought to have been eradicated from Chumphon years ago, and that he suspected Vanitch had contracted the disease from around the Thai-Burmese border in nearby Ranong.

The Plasmodium Faltiparum serotype (subtype) of the malaria parasite is suspected to be the cause of Vanitch’s death, said Dr Chaiporn Rojanawatsirivet, head of the Disease Control Department’s bureau of vector-borne disease control.

He added that this type of malaria was very rare in the South but common in the North, especially around the Burmese border in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

Malaria is the cause of about 200 deaths every year in Thailand, with this rare and acute type accounting for most of the fatalities, despite the fact that the disease can be completely cured if it is detected early enough, Chaiyasombat said.

“Never be complacent about malaria, check the blood and seek help if you develop a fever between two and 14 days after a trip to the forest,” he said.

About 30,000 cases of malaria are reported each year, most of which are in the North.

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