Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Thursday informed that a new genus of malaria called 'plasmodium oval' has been detected in the state.
The disease was detected in a soldier who travelled from Sudan. He was being treated at the district hospital in Kannur.
"Plasmodium oval, a new genus of malaria, has been detected in the State. It was found in a soldier who was being treated at the District hospital in Kannur. The soldier had come from Sudan," Shailaja wrote on Twitter.
The spread of the disease can be avoided with timely treatment and preventive measures, she added.