The Greek Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) has warned that malaria could be making a comeback in Greece 38 years after the country was officially deemed free of the disease.
According to KEELPNO, as the daily Kathimerini reported, 40 cases were detected in the first seven months of this year. In six of them, those infected had no history of travel to countries where the potentially deadly disease is still endemic. The numbers are so far similar to last year, when there was a spike in September. In previous years, there had been a total of 30-50 cases recorded but almost exclusively among people who had traveled to Greece from countries where malaria is still prevalent.
KEELPNO attributed the rise in malaria cases to climate conditions, the activity of mosquitoes and a greater influx of immigrants. This prompted the watchdog to warn of a “real prospect” of the disease re-establishing itself in Greece.
(Sources: KEELPNO, ANSA)
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