Bareilly: With the drop in temperature, mosquitoes have become inactive and that has led to the decrease in cases of rare plasmodium falciparum (PF) and plasmodium falciparum vivax (PV) malaria in the district. In December 2017, 400 cases of PF and 178 cases of PV were reported while in the past one week two cases of PF and one case of PV has been detected. Health officials said that they will start an intensive drive in June to prevent malaria in the district.The health department had stopped active surveillance in the first week of December as earlier teams of doctors used to visit affected villages for testing and treating patients. Now only the patients who suffer from fever visit doctors sitting at primary and community health centres in the district, and the doctors conduct rapid diagnostic test (RDT) on them. The department still continues to do indoor DDT spraying in the affected villages.District malaria officer DR Singh said, “When the temperature comes down to 16 degrees Celsius, mosquitoes become inactive and their breeding is minimum. After the outbreak of malaria in September, around 400 cases of PF were detected daily but later these cases were reported in a month. Even most of the cases which are being reported are those patients who did not complete their medication course.”Chief medical officer Vineet Shukla said, “Only a few cases of malaria are being reported now. However, we have decided to conduct an intensive drive from June onwards on a war-footing to prevent malaria in Bareilly. This drive will be conducted to create awareness among locals that they should immediately consult a doctor if they have fever. We will start testing with RDT kits from June along with other measures.”The health department also sent a proposal to the state government to provide seven lakh long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLIN) for the people residing in affected areas. LLIN have a coating of insecticides and kills mosquito as soon as it sits on it. Officials said that LLIN will help to ensure better protection from mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases.

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