Cambodia reports 29,631 malaria cases in 9 months, down 46%

Cambodia recorded 29,631 malaria cases in the first nine months of 2013, down 46 percent from the 54,464 cases over the same period last year, the figures of the National Center for Malaria showed Monday. During the January-September period this year, the disease killed only 7 people, down sharply from 35 deaths over the same period last year, the figures said. "Death toll from malaria no longer poses a major concern for the Cambodian people," Dr. Char Meng Chuor, director of the center, said in a press release on Monday. The country is committed to stopping the death from malaria by 2015 and completely eliminating it by 2025, he said. Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, which is often found in rainy seasons and mostly happens in forest and mountainous provinces. Last year, malaria killed 45 people in Cambodia.