Canada rescinds medicating for malaria

[Dolores]

The Canadian health authorities no longer are recommending Canadian travelers to the DR to take prophylaxis. The following statement is issued 4 May:

Since November 30, 2004, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has been closely monitoring an outbreak of Malaria in tourists who visited the Province of La Altagracia, in the Dominican Republic. At this time, a combined total of 21 cases of malaria have been confirmed in Canadian, American and European travellers to the Dominican Republic, with the last reported case occurring in early January.
In assessing the situation, PHAC has been in communication with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Ministry of Health in the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). PHAC has been advised that the Ministry of Health, in the Dominican Republic, has actively implemented multiple intensive measures, including intensified surveillance and vector control, to interrupt the transmission of malaria in the Province of La Altagracia. These measures have been effective in controlling the outbreak. As a result, PHAC no longer recommends the use of anti-malarial medication for travelers to resort destinations in the previously affected areas. vellers from the Dominican Republic.