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North East India People

Status of Malaria in Meghalaya       

 

Malaria or bad air was thought to have been transmitted from fetid marshes. It was only in 1880 that scientists discovered the cause of malaria the parasite called plasmodium transmitted through the female Anopheles mosquito.

 

Malaria spreads through the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, good breeding regions of the Anopheles mosquito, the carrier of malaria. It is in these regions where several deaths every year are witnessed due to this disease.

 

North Eastern India, rich in tropical and sub tropical forests is also a malaria endemic region. The state of Meghalaya is situated in the northeastern region of India. It is a land locked territory lying between the latitudes of 25°47'N and 26°10'N and longitudes of 89°45'E and 92°47'E. The state is made up of three hills namely, Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, and Garo Hills. The altitude of the state varies between 100 to 1900 m from msl. Meghalaya has a 496 km. long international boundary with Bangladesh in the south and west. The state of Assam surrounds the state in north and east. With an area of 22,429 sq km, it is predominantly inhabited by tribal people who account for 89 percent of the population of 23,06,069 persons (Census of India, 2001).

 

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Divided into six districts, the state also has a varied forest composition comprising mainly of the sub tropical pine forest, tropical semi evergreen, tropical moist or dry deciduous and tropical dry deciduous and bamboo mix in addition to grasslands and savannas.

 

The following graph gives a summary of the area in sq.km of forest type classes of different districts of Meghalaya.

 

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http://meghalaya.nic.in/naturalres/forest.htm

 

The above graph suggest that malaria is prevalent in the tropical semi evergreen forest fringes of the state as per the district annual comparative data of epidemiological data for the year 2004-2005 (up to August).

 

In most parts of Meghalaya, deaths caused by malaria have been identified and Pf or Plasmodium falciparum malaria is the predominant species. The Pf infested areas are mostly located in forest fringes and remote riverine areas where the health infrastructure is poor.

 

In the state, the prevention and treatment of malaria is carried out by the Health and Family Welfare department and lately, a society has been formed with an objective to intensely focus its programmes on malaria. Lately, this programme has had training programmes for lab technicians. Each district of the state also has a district malaria control administration at the headquarters.

 

The following demonstrates the district annual comparative data of epidemiological data for the year 2004-2005 (up to August) shows the maximum number of deaths confirmed to be due to malaria is in West Garo Hills totaling to twenty three in 2004 and seventeen in 2005.

 

The graph below depicts the number of deaths and the Plasmodium falciparum percentage in the five districts of Meghalaya in 2004 and 2005.

 

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This data depicts a reduction of a number of deaths in West Garo hills by 15% while the Pf% remains the same. Drastically Jaintia Hills had an increase in deaths due to malaria by 75% and a shoot in the Pf% by 91%.

 

Malaria has significant measurable direct and indirect costs, and has recently been shown to be a major constraint to economic development. Annual economic growth in countries with high malaria transmission has historically been lower than in countries without malaria. The direct costs of malaria include a combination of personal and public expenditures on both prevention and treatment of the disease. The indirect costs of malaria include lost productivity or income associated with illness or death.

 

As a response mechanism, this society has had activities for the control of malaria over the years. These activities include spraying of DDT and distribution of treated bed nets especially in the malarial prone areas from the month of March to October while in case of an outbreak focal treatment is done at the area.

 

As an awareness tool, the month of April is set aside as a malaria month where awareness programmes are held at the village level to spread the word of malarial prevention and cure.

 

In addition, most of the villages have voluntary fever detection centers (FDC) and drug distribution centers (DDC) that assists in case of malarial attack. These centers are usually run by the members of the village on a voluntary basis after training from the Department.

 

It is seen that the spread of malaria is mainly in the remote areas of the state where health infrastructure is poor and the forest cover is rich. However in these areas, where only traditional herbalists are available, a concoction of Azarachdica indica and Rawolfia serpentina is orally administered.

 

To counteract the spread of malaria, the awareness tool would play a very important role as this would lead to people's understanding of the spread of the disease and hence eradicate it at the initial level - where breeding spots need to be treated. It is also essential to blend with the knowledge base of the traditional system of prevention of malaria.

 

Research and development of new interventions and treatments for malaria also need to be explored.

 

Acknowledgement: The Statistical Officer of the Intensified Malarial Programme, Shillong for helping in giving information on the status of spread of malaria in the state.

 

Reference

 

Census of India, 2001

 

http://meghalaya.nic.in/naturalres/forest.htm
www.mapsofindia.com

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