The Ministry of Health Investigates Five Cases of Malaria
Port of Spain, April 2, 2025: The Ministry of Health is currently investigating a cluster of Malaria cases in South Trinidad. As of today, April 2, 2025, five cases have been confirmed, including the primary source, which brings the total number of cases for 2025 to five (5); as there were no other confirmed cases for 2025.
Trinidad and Tobago is not endemic for Malaria, and as such, the majority of cases confirmed each year are imported and/or introduced. Over the period 2015 to 2024 there have been 153 confirmed cases, which is an average of 15 cases per year.
These five cases are in a well-defined geographic area, and the following field work has been conducted by the Insect Vector Control Division (IVCD), after the identification of the first case on March 27, 2025:
Vector Control Methods
- The homes of all identified cases, as well as those in at least a 1-mile radius were sprayed via truck mounted, Ultra Low Volume (ULV) to immediately kill the adult mosquitoes,
- Hand-held thermal fogging was conducted around the homes (this is conducted in areas where ULV was not possible),
- Internal residual spraying (IRS) with longer lasting insecticide effect was conducted within homes (the effect of which, last approximately three months),
- Perifocal inspection of homes was also conducted to identify potential breeding sites of the Anophelesspecies of mosquitoes.
Malaria Screening
- All necessary public health screening protocols, including contact tracing have been conducted.
Early symptoms of Malaria include fever, chills, headaches and fatigue, which may start within 10-15 days of being bitten by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Persons experiencing any of these symptoms should visit their nearest health facility.
The following high-risk groups, e.g., persons living in and around forested areas, farmers, hunters, members of the protective services who visits these areas, hikers and environmentalists, are advised to take the necessary precautions:
● Wear long sleeved, loose-fitting and light coloured clothing when possible,
● Use mosquito nets when sleeping,
● Use insect repellents, coils and vaporisers, where applicable.
The Ministry of Health will continue to keep the public updated as necessary.
