- Malaria is on track to become a notifiable disease in India, requiring cases to be reported to government authorities by law. Why is this in the news?
- The move is part of India’s goal of becoming malaria-free by 2027 and eliminating the illness entirely by 2030.
Malaria is a major threat in India.
- In India, 80% of malaria infections occur in the 200 high-risk districts of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, and the seven north-eastern states, which are home to 20% of the population.
- Cases and deaths are substantially greater than recorded since less than half of those affected reach a clinic or hospital.
What is Notifiable Disease?
- A notifiable disease is one that must be reported to government authorities by law.
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India maintains a list of notifiable diseases as part of the National Health Mission.
- This is done to track the spread of the disease and to implement the required control and prevention measures.
- Notifiable illness reporting is critical for public health surveillance and outbreak response.
Malaria Is a Reportable Disease
- Malaria is currently a reportable disease in 33 Indian states and union territories.
- Malaria is being added to the list of notifiable diseases in Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Meghalaya.
Other measures to curb malaria
- Malaria Elimination Programme: To eliminate malaria from India by 2030, the government has created the National Framework for Malaria Elimination in India 2016-2030.
- Combined Action Plan: To eliminate malaria in tribal communities, the Health Ministry has launched a combined action plan with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. This initiative intends to eliminate malaria cases in tribal regions, which are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
- HIP-Malaria Portal: To keep malaria at bay across India, the Ministry has made near-real-time data monitoring available through an integrated health information platform and monthly regional review meetings.
So far, vaccines have been created.
- The World Health Organisation has approved the distribution of two first-generation malaria vaccines, RTS,S and R21, in high-transmission African countries.
- The RTS,S vaccine will be manufactured by Bharat Biotech, an Indian business, with adjuvant given by GSK.
- Scientists at Oxford University created the R21 vaccine, which has demonstrated good outcomes in phase 2 clinical testing and has been approved by regulatory authorities in Ghana and Nigeria.
- Scientists at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi have created and manufactured two experimental blood-stage malaria vaccines, one of which has completed Phase I clinical testing.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/malaria-will-soon-be-a-notifiable-disease-across-india/article66774157.ece#:~:text=Currently%20malaria%20is%20a%20notifiable,eliminate%20the%20disease%20by%202030.