The tribal areas of Gadchiroli and Mumbai, Thane and Vasai-Virar areas continue to have the highest number of malaria cases in the state.
The tribal areas of Gadchiroli and Mumbai, Thane and Vasai-Virar areas continue to have the highest number of malaria cases in the state. From January to April, of 1,041 cases reported across the state, 559 were from Mumbai and 221 from Gadchiroli. Last year, 13 deaths and 10,757 malaria cases were recorded.
The state health department has stepped up measures like fever cases and entomological surveillance. Apart from providing drugs, as part of preventive measures, the health department has also started spraying insecticide and provided long-lasting insecticide bed nets at high endemic areas.
Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said rapid diagnostic test kits were now available at remote areas. April 25 is observed as World Malaria Day worldwide and the theme this year is ‘Zero malaria starts with me’. According to the latest world malaria report released in November 2018, there were 219 million cases in 2017, up from 217 million cases in 2016.
Five countries accounted for nearly half of all malaria cases worldwide: Nigeria (25 per cent), Democratic Republic of the Congo (11 per cent), Mozambique (5 per cent), India (4 per cent) and Uganda (4 per cent). The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 4.35 lakh in 2017.
According to Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for South East Asia, World Health Organisation (WHO), defeating malaria demanded high impact measures.
“With the world at crossroads in the quest to defeat malaria, the WHO South-East Asia region stands tall. Between 2015 and 2017, the region reduced its estimated malaria caseload by 56 per cent, from 25.5 million to 11.3 million. Between 2015 and 2017, total number of cases presumed and confirmed decreased by 25 per cent and reported mortality was more than halved,” Dr Singh said.
Maldives and Sri Lanka remain malaria-free while seven of the South East Asia region’s nine malaria endemic member states are set to have reduced case incidence by 40 per cent by 2020. Member states should ensure malaria is a notifiable disease and transform surveillance into a core intervention. To that end, cross-border collaboration is crucial, Dr Singh added.
The state health department has stepped up measures like fever cases and entomological surveillance. Apart from providing drugs, as part of preventive measures, the health department has also started spraying insecticide and provided long-lasting insecticide bed nets at high endemic areas.
Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said rapid diagnostic test kits were now available at remote areas. April 25 is observed as World Malaria Day worldwide and the theme this year is ‘Zero malaria starts with me’. According to the latest world malaria report released in November 2018, there were 219 million cases in 2017, up from 217 million cases in 2016.
Five countries accounted for nearly half of all malaria cases worldwide: Nigeria (25 per cent), Democratic Republic of the Congo (11 per cent), Mozambique (5 per cent), India (4 per cent) and Uganda (4 per cent). The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 4.35 lakh in 2017.
According to Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for South East Asia, World Health Organisation (WHO), defeating malaria demanded high impact measures.
“With the world at crossroads in the quest to defeat malaria, the WHO South-East Asia region stands tall. Between 2015 and 2017, the region reduced its estimated malaria caseload by 56 per cent, from 25.5 million to 11.3 million. Between 2015 and 2017, total number of cases presumed and confirmed decreased by 25 per cent and reported mortality was more than halved,” Dr Singh said.
Maldives and Sri Lanka remain malaria-free while seven of the South East Asia region’s nine malaria endemic member states are set to have reduced case incidence by 40 per cent by 2020. Member states should ensure malaria is a notifiable disease and transform surveillance into a core intervention. To that end, cross-border collaboration is crucial, Dr Singh added.