TN records over 1,000 cases of malaria this year

The spike was recorded three months from July to September – the number of cases went up from 400 till June to more than 1,000 by September. However, despite the substantial increase, State Health Department officials there was no outbreak. The officials said that dengue and chikungunya cases were rising currently but malaria has been contained.

Of the total number of cases, 41 were confirmed to be due to plasmodium falciparum (PF), the parasite that causes malaria, which is transmitted by female anopheles mosquito.

As per the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of National Centre for Disease Control, most number of cases were recorded in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Dharmapuri, Madurai and Virudhunagar, districts.

Though there was a spike, senior officials from the Health Department said the total number of cases were much less compared to the previous years – in 2018, there were 3,758 cases while it was even higher in 2017 at 5,449.

“The number of cases has been brought down by more than 50 per cent in past few years and there have been no deaths due to malaria in the State since 2015. The presence of vectors, which led to an increase in the number of cases, has been confirmed. But there is no outbreak and the situation in the State is under control,” said Public Health Director Dr K Kolandaisamy.

Environmental factors are mainly responsible for the spurt in the cases and awareness programmes, along with preventive measures, have helped to reduce the cases, he added.