With more gains made towards the 2025 goal of eliminating malaria, health workers warn the battle’s still raging.

At the nine-month benchmark, Cambodia recorded seven deaths, down over 77 per cent from the 35 deaths recorded in the same period last year, according to the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control.

The number of patients also decreased, with 29,631 cases so far this year, compared with 54,464 at this point last year.

WHO spokesman Sonny Krishnan attributes the success in the $140.3 million fight against the mosquito-borne disease to awareness campaigns and active prevention.

Officials, however, encouraged caution.

“The villagers have to remember to sleep in nets … and if they get a fever when they live in malaria areas or come back from malaria areas, they have to go to the hospital,” Dr Char Meng Chuor, director of the national centre, said.