Border News Agency
Ponnakyun, June 7
A young woman has died from malaria in Ponnakyun Township, which is under the control of the Arakan Army (AA).
The victim was a young girl in her early teens from Ganantaung Village in Ponnakyun Township.
Her family members said that she began showing symptoms of malaria in the third week of May but did not receive medical treatment because they assumed it was just a common fever. As a result, she died from malaria at the end of May.
“She initially thought it was just a normal fever. They bought medicine from the village pharmacy and her condition seemed to improve. But the fever returned, and thinking it would get better with medicine again, she didn’t go to the clinic. Later, when the symptoms became severe, she was finally taken to a clinic – but by then, the malaria had already taken hold and couldn’t be cured,” a relatively close to the family told Border News Agency.
People in the Arakan region say that both malaria and seasonal influenza are spreading, with a growing number of people falling ill.
According to locals, since early June, outbreaks of not only malaria but also seasonal flu have been occurring in many towns across the Arakan region.
According to locals, most of those affected by the malaria and seasonal flu outbreaks are children as young as two and elderly people over the age of sixty.
The malaria is believed to be caused by mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. These mosquitoes typically breed in stagnant water, densely forested areas, and cool, damp environments, according to local sources.
To prevent these diseases, people need to sleep under proper mosquito nets and take measures to avoid mosquito bites, locals say.
Due to the ongoing conflict in Arakan, many people – including internally displaced persons (IDPs) – are in urgent need of mosquito nets, medicines, and international humanitarian aid, according to residents of the region.
Locals say that junta forces have been targeting hospitals and clinics in the Arakan region, especially through airstrikes, making it difficult for medical facilities to operate normally.
They also recalled that in Pyine Taing Village, Kyauktaw Township, four people – including a young child – died from malaria last year.
