AP bags Central award for eradicating malaria; only 117 cases reported this year

Vijayawada: On the occasion of World Malaria Day, the Central government, on 25 April, awarded Andhra Pradesh the outstanding performance award for eradicating malaria.

The award is based on the Annual Parasite Index (API) which was less than one in all the districts of Andhra Pradesh. The API is calculated as less than one malaria case per 1,000 populations in a year. Since 2018, the number of malaria cases in the state has drastically declined from 6,040 in 2018 to 1,139 in 2021. The Central government announced the award in recognition of the state's outstanding work. In this process, a total of 75, 29,994 blood samples were tested in 2021, out of which only 1,139 were diagnosed with malaria. Only 117 cases of malaria have emerged so far across the state this year.

25 lakh mosquito nets distributed

Out of the total 25.94 lakh mosquito nets distributed across the state last year, 21.50 lakh nets were distributed in areas identified as high-risk zones. The government also started indoor residual spraying (IRS) at high-risk zones.

Last year, IRS was done in 3,027 villages with 9.22 lakh population and district-level officials were appointed to monitor the progress. Mosquito nets were also provided to health centres, schools, and hostels.

The health department collaborated with the panchayat raj, rural water supply, and municipal administration departments at the village and ward secretariat level to implement programmes like Friday-dry day to educate citizens about weekly cleaning of water storage containers such as overhead tanks, sumps and refrigerators.