Malaria in dist 78% up in 2023,imported cases major concern

Kochi: In a challenge to the malaria elimination efforts of health authorities, Ernakulam has witnessed a 78% rise in cases in 2023 compared to 2022. Raising concerns further, it has been found that most of the infections were caused by Plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan parasite considered the deadliest species of the parasite that causes malaria in humans.
The result is that there is an increase in patients turning critical and needing hospitalization.
Ernakulam reported as many as 83 malaria cases, including one death in 2023 against 45 in 2022. In 2024, five persons have tested positive for the disease so far.
Of the total cases detected in 2023, 41 were PF (Plasmodium falciparum) malaria cases.
Health officials have found that apart from migrant workers, Keralites coming from abroad, where the disease is endemic, are also turning out to be the primary carriers.
Cases were detected among those who had returned home from West Africa and the Middle East.
The single person who died of malaria in 2023 was a native of West Bengal. Malaria deaths were not reported in the district in 2022 and 2021.
“The floating population of migrant workers is a challenge. They come from states where the disease is endemic. They have medicines on their own without proper consultation which is an unhealthy practice. We have started awareness programmes. If a person is infected with PF malaria and there is a delay in taking treatment, it will be fatal for him,” said a district health official.
Hesitancy on the part of patients to continue treatment is also a cause for concern. “When a Bengal native in Perumbavoor was detected with malaria he chose not to come under our monitoring, which is to ensure the patient takes medication properly. He gave us a fake name, but we managed to track him down after which he approached a health centre and took treatment,” said another health officer.
People get malaria by being bitten by an infective Anopheles mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites a person, the malaria parasite is passed into the human bloodstream, infecting them. Mosquitoes in turn can pick up the parasite from an infected human and then pass it on when they bite someone else.
“Plasmodium falciparum multiplies rapidly and can turn fatal, if the infected person does not get timely treatment,” said Dr T Dileep Kumar, former assistant director of entomology, DHS.