Venezuela falls behind in the struggle against malaria

The incidence of malaria decreased by 40% in the Americas from 2000 to 2010. According to a report presented in Sidney, Australia.

The population at risk of malaria in the Americas amounts to 160 million people, according to the report "Defeating malaria in Asia, the Pacific, Americas, Middle East and Europe," prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) under the auspices of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, Efe highlighted.

In 2000, there were 1.18 million confirmed cases of malaria in the Americas. A decade later, the figure declined to 669,000. In 2008, there were 133 malaria deaths, a 60% decline compared to the number of deaths recorded in 2000.

Out of the 21 countries in the Americas fighting against malaria, Argentina, El Salvador, Mexico, and Paraguay are very close to eliminate the illness, while the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Haiti fall behind.

The majority of malaria cases in the Americas arise from the Amazon Basin in districts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, where reported annual incidence rates frequently exceed 50 cases per 1,000 inhabitants.