Bhopal: Malaria cases spiraled during pandemic in MP, death restricted to just one

BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted malaria services, leading to increase in vector-borne diseases specially in forest dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh. Disruptions in the provision of malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during the pandemic led to a rise in malaria cases, according to deputy director health Dr Himanshu Jaiswal.

Deaths due to malaria are restricted to just one in MP. In 2021, one malaria death was reported in Vidisha district. Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum are the dominant species of malaria parasites in Madhya Pradesh. And death was due to P falciparum. Dr Himanshu Jaiswal, deputy director health, said, there is a sharp fall in malaria cases. In 2021, there were around 3000 cases and this year we expect to bring it to half. During the corona period, cases soared in forest dominated districts specially Balagaht. Other districts like Mandla, Dindori which have been under scanner, were normal.

However, there has been a sharp fall in malaria cases in the state. There were approximately 6,600 cases of malaria across Madhya Pradesh in 2020. This was a decrease compared to the previous year when the state reported over 14,000 cases. The highest malaria outbreak in the state was in 2015 which saw over 100,000 cases.