Kathmandu, September 7

The records of the last few years at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division show that cases of malaria have been declining in the country.

As many as 1,674 cases of malaria were reported in the fiscal 2013-14. Likewise, 1,352 cases were reported in 2014-15 and 991 cases in 2015-16. The number of malaria cases stood at 1,094 in the fiscal 2016-17.

“Malaria cases are declining as the government has been working to eliminate malaria from the country by 2025,” informed Uttam Raj Pyakurel, vector control inspector at EDCD. Of the reported cases, 52 per cent were indigenous and 48 per cent imported, according to Dr Guna Nidhi Sharma, section chief, EDCD.

The government has set the target of reaching zero indigenous cases of malaria by 2025. To meet the government’s target, EDCD has been deploying rapid response teams for surveillance, detection and prevention of the disease in malaria-hit districts, including Kailali, Kanchanpur, Surkhet, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Dhanusha.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by plasmodium parasite. It is transmitted through the bite of the infected Anopheles mosquito. The symptoms of malaria include fever, chills, sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting and body aches.