India Ranked 4th in Worldwide Malaria Cases in 2017

India ranked fourth in the global incidence of malaria cases in 2017, according to the report published by The Lancet which was compiled by more than 40 experts accumulating current evidence with new epidemiological and financial analyses. Out of the 219 million cases of malaria reported worldwide in 2017, around 10 million were from India. India was only next to the African countries Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.

Experts used new techniques to estimate how prevalent and intense malaria could be in 2030 and 2050. They also paid attention on how socioeconomic and environmental changes, along with enhanced coverage of existing malarial interventions, will "lead to low levels of malaria that persist in pockets across roughly ten countries in equatorial Africa in 2050."

The report also mentions India, eastern Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea are the countries which struggle to eradicate malaria by 2030 based on current evidences.

71 percent of the cases are from Chennai which has a population of just seven million people. The reason for such a large incidence of malaria is the Indian environment, which is ideal for the breeding of mosquito Anopheles stephensi.

Giving attention to the factors of improvement, the report stressed on the need for proper strategies and interventions beyond those typically deployed in rural settings. It also focused on improving municipal water supply infrastructure and decreasing the need for rooftop water storage.

Source-Medindia