MALARIA - SCI & TECH
News: Malaria
will soon be a notifiable disease across India
What's in the news?
● Malaria
is all set to become a notifiable
disease across India, with Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Meghalaya
too in the process of putting this vector-borne disease in the category. This
will then require by law that cases be reported to government authorities.
Key takeaways:
● Currently malaria is a
notifiable disease in 33 States and Union Territories in India.
● The
Health Ministry added that there is now availability of near-real time data
monitoring through an integrated health
information platform (HIP-Malaria Portal) and periodic regional review
meetings to keep a check on malaria growth across India.
● Confirming
the development, a senior Health Ministry official said this is part of India’s vision to be malaria-free by 2027
and to eliminate the disease by 2030.
● The
Health Ministry has also initiated a joint action plan with the Ministry of
Tribal Affairs for malaria elimination in tribal areas.
Malaria:
● Malaria
is a potentially life-threatening disease caused
by parasites (plasmodium vivax, plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium malaria
and plasmodium ovale).
Transmission:
● It
is transmitted through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
Distribution:
● It
is predominantly found in the tropical
and subtropical areas of Africa, South America and Asia.
Symptoms:
● Fever
and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle ache and fatigue.
Vaccine:
● In
October 2021, WHO recommended the broad use of the RTS, S malaria vaccine for young children living in areas with
moderate and high malaria transmission.
● Oxford
University has developed a vaccine called R21 which is still waiting for the
WHO’s approval.
Global Efforts:
● Global
Malaria Program
● Malaria
Elimination Initiative
● E-2025
initiative
Malaria and India:
● India
was the only high-burden, high-impact country in the South- East Asia region to
report a decline in malaria cases in 2020 as compared to 2019.
● India
witnessed 85.1% decline in malaria cases and 83.36% decline in deaths during
2015-2022.
India's Efforts:
● Malaria
Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India)
● National
Framework for Malaria Elimination 2016-2030
● High
Burden to High Impact (HBHI) Initiative
● National
Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme