The national coordinator of Dengue Response and Combat Actions, Maria da Luz, announced today that two cases of malaria were confirmed in the Fonton area, in the City of Praia, ensuring that an investigation has already been launched.
In an interview with the press this morning, during spraying and awareness-raising actions to combat the proliferation of dengue in critical neighborhoods of the capital, Maria da Luz said that the Fontom neighborhood has had the presence of Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria.
At this moment, he guaranteed, investigations have already been opened to detect whether these are indigenous or imported cases, and whether these people were outside the country in the endemic areas of Africa and Asia.
As he said, laboratory and entomological surveillance technicians are attentive to the facts to identify where the larvae of these mosquitoes are located and concentrated to be combatted.
“We are seeing whether they are imported cases or not, seeing this epidemiological link with malaria-endemic countries. Actions have already started to be taken”, he reiterated, highlighting that all health services have rapid tests for suspected cases of malaria.
According to this person, in cases of concern about vector-transmitted diseases, all extra-household spraying actions are immediately implemented, carried out in homes and within a radius of 300 meters.
In terms of prevention, he highlighted, actions are being taken to identify mosquito larvae, with collections for analysis in the laboratory, and information on the ground for home owners about the measures that must be taken to prevent the proliferation of mosquito breeding grounds.
“These actions are always taken even if the investigation is not completed, public health actions are prioritized and initiated immediately as soon as there is any suspicion of a public health problem that has epidemic potential”, he highlighted.
Maria da Luz said that although the two cases have already been confirmed, the Anopheles mosquito has not been identified much, remembering that the insect has selective areas and specific behaviors.
Cape Verde was, in January this year, certified by the World Health Organization as a malaria-free country, becoming the first in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The country complied with the prevention plan, having developed epidemiological and etymological surveillance activities in ports and airports since 2020, and actions for early diagnosis of the virus and case investigation to avoid local cases.
