Malaria
Why in 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 the vectorborne disease in the category.
- This will then require by law that cases be reported to government authorities.
- Currently, malaria is a notifiable disease in 33 States and Union Territories in India.
- India was the only highburden, highimpact country in the southeast Asia region to report a decline in malaria cases in 2020 as compared to 2019.
- India witnessed a 85.1% decline in malaria cases and 83.36% decline in deaths during 20152022.
About Malaria:
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes.
- It is mostly found in tropical countries.
- It is preventable and curable.
- Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening.
- Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache.
- Severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing.
- Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women, travellers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk of severe infection.
- Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and with medicines.
- Treatments can stop mild cases from getting worse.
- Malaria mostly spreads to people through the bites of some infected female Anopheles
- Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria.
- The first symptoms may be mild, similar to many febrile illnesses, and difficulty to recognize as malaria.
- Left untreated, falciparummalaria can progress to severe illness and death within 24 hours.
- There are 5 Plasmodiumparasite species that cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species – falciparumand P. vivax – pose the greatest threat.
- falciparumis the deadliest malaria parasite and the most prevalent on the African continent.
- vivaxis the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.
- The other malaria species which can infect humans are malariae, P. ovaleand P. knowlesi.
Disease burden of Malaria:
- According to the latest World malaria report, there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2021 compared to 245 million cases in 2020.
- The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 619 000 in 2021 compared to 625 000 in 2020.
- Over the 2 peak years of the pandemic (2020–2021), COVID-related disruptions led to about 13 million more malaria cases and 63 000 more malaria deaths.
- The WHO African Region continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
- In 2021 the Region was home to about 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of deaths.
- Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 80% of all malaria deaths in the Region.
- Four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.3%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6%), United Republic of Tanzania (4.1%) and Niger (3.9%).
Treatment:
- Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduces disease, prevents deaths and contributes to reducing transmission.
- WHO recommends that all suspected cases of malaria be confirmed using parasite-based diagnostic testing (through either microscopy or a rapid diagnostic test).
- Malaria is a serious infection and always requires treatment with medicine.
WHO response:
- The WHO Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030, updated in 2021, provides a technical framework for all malaria-endemic countries.
- It is intended to guide and support regional and country programmes as they work towards malaria control and elimination.
The strategy sets ambitious but achievable global targets, including:
- reducing malaria case incidence by at least 90% by 2030
- reducing malaria mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030
- eliminating malaria in at least 35 countries by 2030
- preventing a resurgence of malaria in all countries that are malaria-free.
Syllabus: Preims
