Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TH
Context: India is set to make malaria a notifiable disease nationwide, with the aim of being malaria-free by 2027 and eliminating the disease by 2030. Currently, malaria is notifiable in 33 states and union territories.
What is the meaning of ‘notifiable disease’?
A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities. Examples of notifiable diseases include tuberculosis, measles, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and many others.
About Malaria:
| Information | |
| It is a life-threatening mosquito-borne blood disease caused by Plasmodium parasites | |
| Spread | Through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes |
| Prevalence | Predominantly found in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America, and Asia |
| Symptoms | Fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness |
| Parasite | 5 species cause malaria in humans, with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax posing the greatest threat |
| Deaths (2021) | 619,000 worldwide, with 11 high-burden countries contributing heavily to the global disease burden |
| Control tools | Insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) are the primary vector control tool used by endemic countries |
| Malaria vaccine | The RTS, S vaccine (Mosquirix developed by GlaxoSmithKline); R21/Matrix M developed by the University of Oxford |
| Initiatives | WHO’s ‘E-2025 Initiative’ aims to eradicate malaria in 25 countries by 2025, while India has the National Framework for Malaria Elimination and the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination to guide its efforts |
| India’s achievement | India has achieved a reduction of over 83% in malaria morbidity and 92% in malaria mortality between the years 2000 and 2020 |
