There was an increase in the number of malaria cases in the DR last year. The increase is attributed to the increase in Haitian migration, at a time the Dominican health authorities had relaxed preventive actions following the eradication of several diseases. Given the almost elimination of sicknesses, the government had abandoned combing poor neighborhoods to vaccinate children, replacing these with fixed vaccination centers, where mothers have to take their children to get vaccinated. Minister of Public Health Juan Octavio Ceballos confirmed there were 3,000 cases of malaria this year, 1,000 more than in 1998. The DR population is estimated at 9 million, including 500,000 illegal Haitians. Most of the increase in the malaria cases have taken place in areas where there has been large influx of migrant Haitian workers, such as the hundreds that were employed to build the over 2,000 hotel rooms that opened along the East Coast this year. The Minister of Public Health said that 20% of the cases reported nationally were in the East during the days of the intense construction of the hotels. He said that as a result, employers are now required to only employ Haitians that can present health certificates. He also said that the Ministry personnel are combing this area, especially areas where the Haitians live, to control the disease. Malaria had been almost entirely eradicted in the DR in the 70s and 80s. Since malaria continues to be prevalent in Haiti, DR authorities recently signed a health agreement with Haitian medical authorities to assist this nation to fight the disease.
