MALARIA FREE COUNTRIES

Cause

Malaria is caused by single-celled microorganisms belonging to the Plasmodium group parasites.

Transmission

It is spread by an infected female Anopheles mosquito.

The mosquito bite injects the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's blood and the parasite grows in the blood.

Parasites then travel to the liver where they mature and reproduce.

Species

Five species of Plasmodium can infect and spread in humans.

P. falciparum causes most deaths in human; 

P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malaria cause milder forms of malaria;

P. knowlesi rarely causes any disease in humans.

Geographic Distribution

Predominantly distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America, and Asia.

Symptoms

Fever, tiredness, vomiting, headaches; severe cases can lead to yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death.

Vaccine

Malaria is preventable and curable.

RTS, S/AS01 (Mosquirix) vaccine is administered to children and  protects children aged 6 weeks to 17 months against malaria caused by P. falciparum.

Initiatives Related to Malaria Prevention 

India 

National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme

National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP)

High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) Initiative

National Framework for Malaria Elimination 2016-2030

Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India)

Global:

WHO's Global Malaria Program(GMP)

E-2025 Initiative

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.Consider the following statements about the Process of Malaria Elimination Certification by World Health Organization: 

1. The World Health Organization (WHO) certifies a country as malaria-free when nationwide malaria transmission has been interrupted for at least 3 consecutive years.
2. India is the only country certified malaria-free by WHO in the South East Asian Region.
3. The WHO has so far awarded the malaria-free certification to 43 countries.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

A.Only one

B.Only two

C. All Three

D.None

Answer: B

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: 

The World Health Organization (WHO) certifies a country as malaria-free when nationwide malaria transmission has been interrupted for at least 3 consecutive years and the country has a fully functional surveillance and response mechanism to prevent re-occurrence of indigenous transmission.

Statement 2 is incorrect: 

In the South East Asian Region, the Maldives (2015) and Sri Lanka (2016) are the only countries certified malaria-free by WHO.

India has  not been certified as Malaria free.

Statement 3 is correct: 

The WHO has so far awarded the malaria-free certification to 43 countries and 1 territory.