Gyeonggi-do Issues 'Malaria Alert' in Goyang City Following Gimpo and Paju

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province issued a malaria alert on the 6th following the occurrence of four suspected malaria cluster cases in Goyang City.

This alert is the second one after the first issued on the 1st of last month for Gimpo and Paju cities.

As of the 5th of this month, the number of malaria patients in the province reached 183, doubling compared to 86 patients during the same period last year.

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province plans to conduct field investigations including mosquito habitat surveys, residential area inspections, and identification of risk factors in the affected areas.

In Goyang City, measures have been taken to actively carry out rapid diagnostic testing guidance for symptomatic individuals through local medical and pharmaceutical associations, malaria prevention publicity via media outlets, intensive vector mosquito control, and provision of rapid diagnostic tests and preventive medication for early detection.

Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted by female mosquitoes belonging to the Anopheles genus, with main symptoms including fever, chills, and headache.

Prompt treatment critically affects prognosis, and residents or visitors to risk areas should visit public health centers or medical institutions immediately upon symptom onset for testing.

Malaria can be presumptively diagnosed within 15 minutes using rapid diagnostic tests. In the case of Plasmodium vivax malaria, which is the most common type in Korea, complete recovery is possible with appropriate treatment.

Jang Woo-il, Director of the Disease Policy Division at Gyeonggi Province, advised, "Residents or travelers in malaria risk areas should use repellents and insecticides properly to avoid mosquito bites and refrain from going out at night. Even if you have not been bitten by mosquitoes this year, there may be patients with long incubation periods, so residents or visitors to risk areas should visit public health centers or medical institutions for rapid malaria diagnostic testing if symptoms such as fever or chills occur."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.