National Project Implementation Plan - NVBDCP

The following matrix summarizes the transmission mechanisms of malaria
and kala-azar, their health effects and geographical dispersion:
Type of
Vector
Borne
Disease
Description of the
Vector and
Causative Agent
Description of the
Infection and health
impact
Geographical
dispersion
Malaria
Vector: Anopheles
mosquitoes, which
breed in clean water
and feed during the
night
Causative Agent:
Plasmodium
parasites.
Among different
species of the
parasite, falciparum
causes most severe
form of malaria with
higher mortality risk.
The other commonly
reported species in
India is vivax.
One to two weeks or
more after a person
becomes infected, first
symptoms appear.
Typically, malaria
produces fever,
headache, vomiting and
other flu-like symptoms.
The parasite infects and
destroys red blood cells
resulting in anemia.
Infections with
falciparum may cause
cerebral malaria with
fits/convulsions and loss
of consciousness, and
often death. Malaria in
pregnancy poses a
substantial risk to the
mother, the fetus and
the newborn infant.
Of all reported
malaria cases in
India during
2006, about
90% were in 11
States: Orissa,
22%; Jharkhand,
11%;
Chhattisgarh,
10%; West
Bengal, 10%;
Gujarat, 10%;
Madhya Pradesh,
6%; Uttar
Pradesh, 6%;
Karnataka, 5%;
Assam, 4%;
Rajasthan, 3%
and
Maharashtra,
3%.
Type of
Vector
Borne
Disease
Description of the
Vector and
Causative Agent
Description of the
Infection and health
impact
Geographical
dispersion
Kala-azar
(Visceral
Leishmaniasis)
Vector: Female
Phlebotomus
argentipes (sandfly).
The sand-flies
breed in the
presence of organic
debris, making
homes with mud
walls plastered with
cow dung ideal for
breeding. These
sand-flies feed on
blood (usually in the
evening and at
night) and can travel
about a radius of a
few hundred meters
around its habitat.
Kala-azar is a slow
progressing disease and
often recognized late.
Kala-azar infection is
manifested in two forms.
Initial infection leads to
acute disease, i.e. Kalaazar.
Later on, skin
manifestations of Kalaazar
infection, known as
Post Kala- azar Dermal
Leishmaniasis (PKDL),
may appear after
variable periods ranging
up to a few years.
Practically all
cases of Kalaazar
reported in
2006 are from
three States:
Bihar, 70%;
Jharkhand, 21%;
and West
Bengal, 9%.
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