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Malaria
Frequently Asked Questions

Tamil Nadu Scenario

Disease Burden

Symptoms

Mode of Spread

Prevention and Control

Treatment

Treatment Facilities

1. What is Malaria ?

            Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by the Genus Plasmodium and spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes.

2. What are the symptoms of Malaria ?

            Fever, Headache, Bodyache, Rigor and chill.

3. How does malaria spread ?

            Malaria is spread by the female anopheles mosquitoes which breeds in fresh water collections like OHTs, Cisterns, wells etc.  There is no direct transmission from the infected person to the healthy person.  Malaria is spread only through the live of infected mosquito.

4. Is there different type of malaria ?

            Yes.  There are 4 types of malaria by P. vivax,  P. falciparum, P. malaria and

P. ovale.

5. Do all these are prevalent in Tamil Nadu ?

            No. P. vivax and P. falciparum are prevalent in Tamil Nadu & dominated by P. vivax Malaria .

6. What are the different types of vector mosquitoes ?

            There are 3 different types of vector mosquitoes.  An. stephensi – Urban vector; An.culicifacies – Rural vector, An. fluviatilis – Food hill area vector.

7. How to eliminate the breeding of mosquitoes ?

            Proper sealing of Over Head Tanks, wells and covering all water containers preventing mosquitoes from laying eggs and thereby breeding.

8. Will Malaria cause death ?

            Untreated P. falciparum may cause severe complications leading to death.

9. Is there a vaccine for Malaria ?

            No.

10. How does a person know that he is suffering from malaria ?

            Any person having fever and headache should be suspected as a malaria case and his blood should be examined for confirming the same or otherwise.

11. Is there any specific treatment for Malaria ?

            Yes.  All the suspected cases should be given presumptive treatment with chloroquine tablets as per the drug schedule after taking blood smear.

            After examining the blood-smear, if the person is found positive for malaria, radical treatment with primaquine should be administered.

   Revised TREATMENT SCHEDULE – MALARIA POSITIVES

RADICAL TREATMENT

Plasmodium vivax (14 days Treatment)*  

Age years

Chloroquine(mg ) (150mg base)

Primaquine(mg)( 2.5mg)      Daily dose for14 days

 

DayI

DayII

 DayIII

Mg base

No.of tablets

0-1

75

75

37.5

nil

nil

1-4

150

150

75

2.5

1

4-8

300

300

150

5.0

2

9-14

450

450

225

10.0

4

15&above

600

600

300

15.0

6

             Plasmodium falciparum (One day treatment only) 

Age years

Chloroquine

 150mg base)

Primaquine

               (7.5 mg base)

 

 DayI

DayII

Day III

I Day

No.of tablets

0-1

75

75

37.5

nil

0

1-4

150

150

75

7.5

1

4-8

300

300

150

15.0

2

9-14

450

450

225

30.0

4

15&above

600

600

300

45.0

6

No primaquine for infants and pregnant women

Chloroquine Resistant P.falciparum Areas

(Ramanathapuram and Chennai only)

Artesunate(50mg tablet+Sulpha – pyrimethamine (525mg tablet)    (ACT)combination

Age (yrs)

Iday (number of tablets)

IIday (number of tablets)

IIIday (number of tablets)

<1year

AS

SP

½

¼

½

nil

½

nil

1-4

AS

SP

1

1

1

nil

1

nil

5-8

AS

SP

2

1 ½

2

nil

2

nil

9-14

AS

SP

3

2

3

nil

3

nil

15 & above

AS

SP

4

3

4

nil

4

nil

12. How to control Malaria ?

i.                     Taking complete radical treatment will prevent transmission of malaria parasites.

ii.                   Anti-larval activities by application of Temephos

iii.                  Anti-adult measures by spray operations in problem areas

iv.                 Intensified IEC activities.


Treatment Facilities:
                                 Treatment is "
FREE " in all Government Hospitals, Primary Health Centres and Malaria Clinics.


Tamil Nadu Scenario

          Tamil Nadu  -  Malaria Problem Areas

 


Disease Burden

MALARIA INCIDENCE IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS OF TAMILNADU

Year

State Cases

Rural Cases

Chennai Cases

Chennai %

Other UMS Cases

Other UMS %

2001

31551

5121

23652

75.0

2778

8.8

2002

34523

5490

27205

78.8

1828

5.3

2003

43396

12233

29058

67.0

2105

4.9

2004

41640

10841

28229

67.8

2570

6.2

2005

40594

13560

25153

62.0

1881

4.6

2006

26329

6529

18585

70.6

1235

4.7

2007

22389

7104

14002

62.5

1283

5.7

2008(Upto December)

20211

5737

13503

66.8

971

4.8