The Indonesian government has reported up to 3 million malaria cases in 2007 while the number of cases stood at 1.8 million the previous year, Xinhua quoted local press as reporting today. The formation of health agencies in the new regions has allowed the government to reach outlying areas and discover malaria infection, with the easternmost province of Papua becoming the most vulnerable to the disease, reported local newspaper The Jakarta Post. Experts have found malaria transmission often occurs in newly settled areas, especially in tropical forest areas. Major environmental transformation occurs during occupation, fostering the proliferation of mosquito breeding sites and resulting in major malaria outbreaks. Health experts have said climate change is helping the virus spread because warmer temperatures allow mosquito-borne diseases to expand into areas that were previously too cold for breeding. Malaria sub-division head at the Health Ministry Rita Kusriastuti said the government had provided enough stock of malaria drugs, but unfortunately the distribution was inefficient and wasteful. "Thousand of malaria drugs have piled up in warehouses and then expired," she was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
