Burma, Thailand Join Forces Against Malaria
Agence France-Presse

        RANGOON -  Burma and Thailand have joined forces to battle malaria, which officials say 
has re-emerged here as a major killer, according to recent reports. Health officials from the 
neighboring countries met senior World Health Organization representatives in Rangoon recently 
to discuss the epidemic, the state press said.
        Malaria has re-emerged as a primary killer in Burma and threatens neighboring countries, 
Rangoon's Deputy Health Minister Mya Oo was quoted saying in the New Light of Myanmar 
daily. Population movements across the border have contributed to the spread of drug resistance 
[against] malaria, Mya Oo added. 
        According to statistics 7.5 people in every 100,000 in Burma died of malaria in 1997, a rate 
that doubles in border areas, he said.
        Some 500 million people globally are smitten with malaria and a million people die each year 
from the disease, which is transmitted through mosquitoes.
        The WHO spends just $10 million each year combating malaria, just a fraction of the $200 
million to $300 million it argues is needed.