The modern facility is located in the Center for Prevention and Control of Diseases Transmitted by Vectors and Zoonoses and has among its objectives the application of innovation and technology in the diagnosis of various ailments, including malaria.

This was stated by the Minister of Health, Daniel Rivera, when referring to the importance of timely detection of parasites’ genetic capacity to survive certain treatments.

Rivera said with the opening of this laboratory, the country is in a position to process and analyze PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, in order to diagnose certain infectious pathologies and genetic changes.

Similarly, the Vice Minister of Collective Health, Eladio Pérez, indicated that “the application of molecular methods may be of particular interest for malaria control and elimination programs.”

The Dominican Republic proposes to eliminate this disease transmitted by an infected mosquito by 2025, hence the health personnel involved work systematically on detection, treatment, investigation, and response.

World Malaria Day is commemorated on April 25 each year with the aim of highlighting the importance of investing in the prevention and control of this serious disease, with symptoms very similar to those of the flu or those of a gastroenteritis, including fever, sweating, chills, headache, and vomiting.

The World Malaria Report 2022 indicated that worldwide the number of deaths from this disease decreased between 2020 and 2021, going from 625,000 to 619,000, but it was higher than the 568,000 deaths from this cause estimated in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the case of the Dominican Republic, the General Directorate of Epidemiology alerted this Tuesday about an increase in cases with 41 patients notified so far this year in relation to a similar period in 2022, when 20 were notified.

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