Malaria menace in India GS: 3 "EMPOWER IAS"

 

In news:

• In a historic move, the World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the first anti-malarial vaccine, as mankind enters a key turning point in a battle waged relentlessly over decades between man and mosquito, the vector.

Mosquirix

• RTS,S/ASO1 (RTS.S), trade name Mosquirix acts against P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa.
• The vaccine was able to prevent approximately 4 in 10 cases of malaria over a 4-year period in Africa.
• This is the first malaria vaccine that has completed the clinical development process.
• It is also the first malaria vaccine to be introduced by three national ministries of health through their childhood immunization programs — more than 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.
• have been vaccinated, and are benefiting from the added protection provided by the vaccine as part of a pilot program.

How the vaccine can help?

• WHO’s recommendation is based on the advice of its two global advisory bodies, one for immunization and the other for malaria.
• WHO has recommended that in the context of comprehensive malaria control, the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by it.
• The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden.

 

The World malaria report:

• It is published annually by WHO providing a comprehensive update on global and regional malaria data and trends. 
• The report tracks investments in malaria programmes and research as well as progress across all intervention areas: 
  • Prevention, 
  • Diagnosis, 
  • Treatment and 
  • Surveillance. 
• The report is based on information received from national malaria control programmes and other partners in endemic countries.

 

Key Highlight of the World Malaria Report 2020:

• The number of malaria cases worldwide in 2019 was around 229 million.
• Around  409,000 lives were lost to the mosquito-borne disease. 
• The majority of cases were reported in Africa, while India and Southeast Asia recorded a significant drop.
• Cases in India fell from approximately 20 million to 6 million.
• India is the only highly endemic country that has reported a decline of 17.6% in 2019 as compared to 2018. 
• The Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) reduced by 18.4% in 2019 as compared to 2018.
• India has also contributed to the largest drop in cases region-wide, from approximately 20 million to about 6 million. 
• The percentage drop in the malaria cases was 71.8% and deaths were 73.9% between 2000 to 2019.
• India achieved a reduction of 83.34% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the years 2000 and 2019, thereby achieving Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals - 50-75% decrease in case incidence between 2000 and 2019.

 

About malaria:

1. Caused by: Plasmodium parasites.
   • Four kinds of malaria parasites infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae. 
   • Zoonotic malaria: In addition, P. knowlesi, a type of malaria that naturally infects macaques in Southeast Asia, also infects humans, causing malaria that is transmitted from animal to human.
2. Spread by: Female Anopheles mosquitoes, called "malaria vectors"
3. World Malaria Day: Observed on 25th April every year. It can be noted that WHO officially endorses disease-specific global awareness days for only four diseases viz. HIV-AIDS, TB, Malaria, and Hepatitis.
4. Status in India: States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh disproportionately accounted for nearly 70.54 percent of falciparum Malaria cases in 2019 and 63.64% of malaria deaths were also reported from these states.

 

Malaria Elimination efforts in India:

• National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME):Efforts were initiated in the country in 2015 and were intensified after the launch of NFME in 2016 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2017-22):It was launched by the Health Ministry in 2017 which laid down strategies for the next five years.
• Distribution of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs):About 5 crores have been distributed in 7 North-East States, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha by the government of India.
• Global malaria strategy (2016 -2020):The strategy sets the target of reducing global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030.
• High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) initiative:It is a country-led approach supported by WHO in 11 high malaria burden countries, including India. It will help in achieving the targets of the Global malaria strategy.

 

 

Countries that have eliminated malaria

• Globally, the elimination net is widening, with more countries moving towards the goal of zero malaria.
• In 2019, 27 countries reported fewer than 100 indigenous cases of the disease, up from 6 countries in 2000.
• Countries that have achieved at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria are eligible to apply for the WHO certification of malaria elimination.
• 11 countries have been certified as malaria-free: United Arab Emirates (2007), Morocco (2010), Turkmenistan (2010), Armenia (2011), Sri Lanka (2016), Kyrgyzstan (2016), Paraguay (2018), Uzbekistan (2018), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), and El Salvador (2021).

Burden of Malaria in India

• In 2018, the National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) estimated that approximately 5 lakh people suffered from malaria.
• 63% of the cases were of Plasmodium falciparum.
• The recent World Malaria Report 2020 said cases in India dropped from about 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.