WHO: Only Venezuela fails in the fight against malaria in Latin America

Latin America has made great progress in its fight against malaria with Venezuela as the only exception given its failure to combat the disease which could eventually put neighboring countries at risk, the World Health Organization, WHO, has said. According to WHO data compiled in the World Malaria Report 2014 presented Monday, the number of confirmed cases of malaria in Latin America has dropped from 1.2 million in 2000 to 427,000 in 2013. "Latin America is doing very well," said the director of WHO's Global Malaria Program, Pedro Alonso. Three countries responsible for 72 percent of the Latin American malaria cases in 2013 were Brazil with 42 percent, Venezuela with 18 percent and Colombia with 12 percent. More…