Deaths from malaria in the first 10 months of this year have dropped 78 per cent from the same period last year, a report by the Ministry of Health shows.

According to the report, prepared by the Ministry’s National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, there were 33,769 cases of the disease through October this year, compared to 59,668 cases in the same period last year. A total of eight patients died from Malaria infections during the 10-month period, a drop from the 37 fatal cases last year.

“Cambodia now is at the pre-elimination stage of malaria and [the World Health Organization] is confident that Cambodia will be able to have zero malaria deaths by 2015,” said Sonny Krishnan, communications officer for WHO Cambodia.