KUCHING: Sarawak has reported a total of 421 malaria cases from January to June this year, 120 of them being imported cases (from overseas).
Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said historically, Borneo has a higher transmission of tropical diseases compared to other regions due to the tropical climate and geographical diversity, which created various habitats for diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and other tropical diseases.
“One of the ways that Sarawak addresses this is through the Malaria Research Centre by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) to study the genetics and transmission of malaria.”
“We also look forward to the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre, which is expected to open by 2024,” he said.
He said tropical medicine will be a major study at the centre and that the Sarawak Research and Development Council has already met with Imperial College London and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Switzerland to discuss research collaboration earlier this month.
“We are highly optimistic that this collaboration will take place,” he said at a press conference regarding the 21st International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria (ICTMM) 2024 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here Monday.
Themed “Global Responses and Interdisciplinary Research Towards Eliminating Tropical Diseases”, the event will take place from Sept 19-23 next year at BCCK.
It is being organised by the International Federation for Tropical Medicine and Malaria (IFTM) and the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSTPM) and will run together with the 60th Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine Conference and the 10th Asean Congress of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology.
“We expect over 2,000 delegates, including policymakers and international authorities to meet in Kuching and discuss current topics such as neglected diseases, drug resistance, travel medicine and zoonoses (diseases and infections that are transmitted between animals and humans),” he said.
Dr Sim, who is also Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister said Malaysia’s malaria cases have dropped over the years with less than 4,000 cases reported last year.
Thus, he said, the international congress would be able to further contribute to global health where knowledge, insights and collaborations gained from the congress can be translated into practical solutions and interventions that address the challenges of tropical diseases in their respective regions.
“We are proud that Sarawak is facilitating global developments in this area of science and medicine,” he said.
