Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation is to distribute mosquito protection suits to park rangers to protect them from mosquito bites, and especially from Plasmodium knowlesi malaria.

Park rangers working on Chang Island in Trat province will be the first to receive the suits, because several cases of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria have been found on the island, said Patarapol Maneeorn, a veterinarian attached to the department.

He explained that Plasmodium knowlesi parasites are found in wild monkeys and, when a striped mosquito bites the monkey and then a human, the parasites are transferred to the human and cause malaria.

Although Plasmodium knowlesi malaria is curable, the fatalityrate is higher than that of other types of malaria and only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) blood tests can detect the disease.

The suits are made of mosquito netting, laced with nano chemicals which repel all mosquitoes, he said.

Since only a limited number of such suits are available now, park rangers will take turns to wear them when they go on patrol at night, said the vet, adding that, when more suits are available, they will be sent to other national parks across the country.

He also advised tourists who visit national parks during the rainy season, particularly in areas where malaria has been found, to take precautionary measures, such as wearing asufficient coverage of clothing, applying mosquito repellents and sleeping under mosquito nets.

Plasmodium knowlesi malaria was first detected in Thailand in 2004 and an average of 10 cases were found each year until, in 2021, over 70 cases were found in Ranong, Songkhla and Trat provinces.

Patients will have high fever, headache, shivering and will perspire excessively. People with such symptoms are advised to see a doctor for a blood test immediately, so treatment can be begin if plasmodium knowlesi malaria is confirmed.