training module for medical officers primary health centre - NVBDCP

Distribution of malariaSESSION – 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW1.1 : INTRODUCTION TO MALARIA PROBLEM IN INDIAMalaria is endemic in more than 100 countries and about half the world’s population live in areas ofmalaria transmissionExtends up to 40 O north and 40 O south of equatorIntense malaria transmission is in equatorial regionOn the fringes of its distribution malaria is usually unstableIncidence of malaria may vary from village to village, city to city and even in a city, from ward toward.Malarial Parasites in IndiaIn India two types of plasmodia are responsible for most human malaria.–They are Plasmodium vivax(P. vivax) and Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum). There are two other plasmodia (Plasmodiummalariae and Plasmodium ovale) that cause malaria in humans, but they are rare and of practicably nopublic health importance in India. P. malariae is responsible for less than 1 % of malaria cases in Indiaand P. ovale malaria does not occur in India. P.falciparum is the variety which is responsible for almostall the deaths due to malaria. P. vivax causes debilitating illness, but vivax malaria is rarely fatal, unlessaccompanied by some other problem like malnutrition. In many states of India, particularly the NorthEastern states, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, a very high proportion of malaria cases are due to P.falciparum.Malaria estimates in Pre-control era It was estimated in 1947 that out of a population of 340 million in the country, annual malariaincidence was 75 million (nearly 22% of population) with 0.8 million deaths The morbidity and mortality rates used to increase to double in epidemic years Epidemics were recorded at an interval of 5 to 7 years Economic loss due to malaria to the nation was estimated at Rs. 7500 crores annually in 1940(Rupee value of the reporting year)Milestones in malaria control measures in India1945 - DDT brought into civilian use for the first time. Systematic studies with different dosageof DDT were taken up.1952 - A population of about 30 million was being protected with residual insecticidal sprayunder various projects.1953 - National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) launched2