Sharp drop last year in malaria cases

The country reported 1,384 malaria cases in 2023, down about 66% from the previous year, marking significant progress in the fight against the disease, a health official said.

“There were no fatalities reported among the cases,” Huy Rekol, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, told Xinhua. He said the South-East Asian country has achieved a major milestone in eliminating malaria deaths since 2018, a target it aimed to achieve three years later.