In News
- Nigeria made history with the approval granted a new malaria vaccine- R21/Matrix-M, which has been developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
- It is the second country to do so after Ghana.
About
- The R21, otherwise referred to as Matrix-M malaria vaccine, is the second vaccine ever developed for a disease.
- The first-ever malaria vaccine, RTS, S or mosquirix was approved by the WHO in 2021.
- Since 2015, 9 countries have been certified by the WHO Director-General as malaria-free, including Maldives, Sri Lanka , Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Algeria, China (2021) and El Salvador (2021).
Malaria
- About
- It is a mosquito-borne blood disease caused by plasmodium protozoa.
- The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- Cause:
- It is a life threatening disease caused by plasmodium parasites.
- Transmission:
- The parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- In the human body, parasites initially multiply in liver cells and then attack the Red Blood Cells (RBCs).
- There are 5 parasite species that cause Malaria in humans and 2 of these species (Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax) pose the greatest threat.
- Distribution:
- It is predominantly found in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, South America and Asia.
- Symptoms:
- Fever and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle ache and fatigue.
Disease burden
- According to the latest World malaria report, there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2021 compared to 245 million cases in 2020.
- In 2022 there were over 45 thousand cases of malaria reported in India.
- Children under five years of age accounted for about 80 per cent of all malaria deaths in the WHO African Region.
Initiatives to Curb Malaria
- Global Initiatives:
- The WHO has also identified 25 countries with the potential to eradicate malaria by 2025 under its ‘E-2025 Initiative’.
- The WHO’s Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030 aims to reduce malaria case incidence and mortality rates by at least 40% by 2020, at least 75% by 2025 and at least 90% by 2030 against a 2015 baseline.
- WHO has initiated the High Burden to High Impact (HBHI) initiative in 11 high malaria burden countries, including India.
- Implementation of “High Burden to High Impact (HBHI)” initiative has been started in four states i.e. West Bengal and Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
- Indian Initiatives:
- The Government of India set a target to eliminate malaria in India by 2027.
- It developed a National Framework for Malaria Elimination (2016-2030)
- National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination for 5 years.
- Launched in 2017
- It shifted focus from Malaria control to elimination.
- It provided a roadmap to end malaria in 571 districts out of India’s 678 districts by 2022.
- Malaria Elimination Research Alliance-India (MERA-India)
- Established by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
- It is a conglomeration of partners working on malaria control
Source: ET
