Shifting cultivators, rubber tappers more susceptible to malaria: Tripura Health Secretary

WEST TRIPURA: Tripura Health Secretary Kiran Gitte said that the state health department has launched a comprehensive drive to eradicate malaria by 2027. As a part of the drive, the state government has undertaken multi-pronged initiatives that include the testing, treatment, and distribution of preventive medicines and protective gear.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday on the sidelines of a visit to Subalsingh, a nondescript village under West Tripura district, the top official said that the state government had identified 126 villages comprising 700 localities that are considered to be endemic zones for malaria.

"There are as many as 126 villages, which consist of 700 paras (localities). The total population living here is around 3.5 lakh people. This target population will be tested, for sure. Apart from that, 9.5 lakh treated mosquito nets are going to be distributed this season," he added.

According to him, rubber tappers and the Jhumia population of the state are more prone to the vector-borne disease. "We have seen that water gets accumulated in the bowls installed in rubber plants for collection latex where the parasites carrying mosquitoes breed.

This is how rubber tappers fall prey to the disease. The Jhumia population, which earns their livelihood through shifting cultivation, is also found to be prone to this disease. We are taking special care of people belonging to these two categories through the distribution of preventive medicines," he added. For household testing, ASHA and Anganwadi workers have been imparted special training.

"The ASHA workers have been imparted training to carry out doorstep testing," said Gitte. According to health officials, in the last few years, the cases of malaria have been in gradual decline. Last year, deaths due to the dreaded disease were in the single digits.