Unhygienic Living Conditions Fueling Rise in Malaria Deaths: Indian Doctors

As we commemorate April 25th as the World Malaria Day, it is of vital importance to raise awareness about this infectious disease that spreads through mosquitoes.

India has a higher prevalence of this disease and the World Health Organization’s 2014 report showed that there were 1.6 million confirmed cases of malaria in India and 400-1000 deaths annually.

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‘A poll conducted among doctors revealed that about 1 in 3 doctors blame increase in deaths due to malaria was because of unhygienic living conditions in India.’

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About 90-95% of malaria cases are reported in the rural areas, contributing to the biggest burden in India, while 5-10% are from the urban areas. Adding to this, India faced a rise in malaria deaths from 400 to 600 in the year 2013.

As the malarial burden keeps agitating in the country, a survey was conducted by Curofy, India’s largest community of doctors, to find out what they think as the main cause of malaria deaths. The options were a lack of awareness, lack of health care services in rural India, incomplete treatment or unhygienic living conditions.

About 1300 doctors participated in the poll and out of that, about 32% said that increase in deaths due to malaria was because of unhygienic living conditions.

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Malaria is a preventable and curable disease and World Malaria Day’s objective is to concentrate on prevention and cure. Every year, April 25 is commemorated as World Malaria Day.

Malaria is a vector-borne disease and unhygienic conditions such as stagnant water, waste disposal favors the growth of mosquitoes, in turn accelerating the spread of malaria.

About 12% of doctors thought that lack of proper healthcare services in the rural areas was the reason behind malaria deaths. 26% of the doctors said that lack of awareness about the disease and its spread was the barrier behind eliminating the disease and preventing its spread. Only 18% think that incomplete treatment which leads to drug resistance is the culprit behind malaria-related deaths in India.

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Mudit Vijayvergiya, Co-founder Curofy said, “The results of the poll along with the statistics show that we need to work in a lot of areas as a society to make India malaria free. From spreading awareness amongst the masses to providing healthcare services in the deep dredges of our society, we have a long way to go.”

Source-Medindia