Celeste Pataca, head of the Angolan Department of Public Health and Control of Endemic Diseases, told reporters that "this figure was 81 more than the same period last year."

Pataca explained that the increase of dead people was due to the shortage of a new medicine called "Coartem" for malaria treatment in the province.

However, the official added, the registration of cases of malaria was cut down to 41,525 during the same period as a result of an awareness campaign carried out across the province and more effective measures taken to prevent and control the disease in the province.

The Angolan government in April 2006 launched a nationwide malaria-control campaign by popularizing use of the new fast- effective anti-malaria drug to combat the disease which infects some 2.2 million people and kills over 12,000 a year.

According to Filomeno Fortes, head of the National Malaria Combat Program, the parasite-borne disease accounted for 35 percent of total health care demand in Angola and had a mortality rate of between 15 percent and 30 percent.

He said the disease is also the main cause of death and responsible for most cases of day-off from school and work.