Nicaragua on alert for increasing number of malaria cases

MANAGUA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nicaragua's government is on alert due to a 35 percent increase in the number of malaria cases recently, Vice President Rosario Murillo said Monday.

The Central American country "remains attentive" to the situation, after the number of cases reported last week rose to 135, an increase of 35 percent from the previous week, said Murillo.

Officials are taking steps to prevent the spread of the infectious mosquito-borne disease, she added.

"We are attending to the causes and reasons of the increase. The Health Ministry has been deployed to stop the continued spread of malaria," she said.