The Health department has initiated a fever survey as well as peripheral blood smear tests in those with fever in and around Kuttikkadu ward in Ponnani municipality in Malappuram district, after three cases of malaria were confirmed from within the municipal limits.
The District Medical Officer said the Health department initiated the fever survey as soon as a child, who had come to hospital three days ago with fever, was confirmed as having malaria. The survey yielded two more cases.
According to the department, two of these three cases were cases of indigenous malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax ( considered less dangerous than the P. falciparum species).
The DMO claimed detailed history of the cases were being taken to ascertain whether it was a local outbreak of indigenous malaria or linked to any imported cases in the area. She said the fever survey was continuing in the area.
Imported cases of malaria (malaria introduced into the State through inter-State travel) has been a headache for the State since long.
Kerala was the first State in the country to achieve the eradication of malaria in 1965. However, this was short-lived. Slackening of vector-control activities and the importation of malaria from other States re-introduced the disease in Kerala in 1965 and from 1975 onwards malaria became a regular disease in the State.
Almost 95% of the cases today in Kerala are those imported or introduced from other States.
As on July 17, of the 365 cases of malaria reported this year, only two are indigenous cases. Four malaria deaths were reported this year
With a burgeoning migrant worker population across the State and increased travel, importation of malaria into Kerala has remained a perennial problem for the State.
Once an ‘imported’ case of infection appears in a locality where the mosquito population is quite high, it will not be long before it results in local malaria outbreaks. Hence sustained vector control activities are crucial to prevent imported cases triggering local outbreaks
Malaria is transmitted to a person through the bite from an infected anopheles mosquito. The mosquito transmits plasmodia from its saliva into the host while ingesting a blood meal. The plasmodia then enter the red blood cells and feed on haemoglobin.
Early diagnosis and prompt and complete treatment is important not just to prevent the complications of malaria and fatalities but also to prevent the transmission of the disease.
