The Spread Of Malaria

Malaria has been present since pre historical times. The earliest mention of malaria is in the Chinese book of medicine “The NeiChing” which discussed malaria symptoms and the relationship between fevers and enlarged spleens. The Egyptians wrote about malaria on papyrus, and the famous Greek physician Hippocrates described it in detail. In ancient times malaria was thought to be associated to poor hygiene and marshes and the word malaria itself mean bad air. The French scientist Alphonse Laveran discovered the real cause of malaria, the single-celled Plasmodium parasite in 1880. In the 1890's British scientist Patrick Manson theorized that mosquitoes may be involved in malaria transmission. About 20 years later, scientists working in India

Of the three billion people living in 108 countries who are exposed to the parasite, approximately 216 million will develop symptomatic malaria annually [ 12]. Most of these cases of malaria are attributable to P. vivax. Most of the severe diseases are caused by P.falciparum. But P. vivax and P. knowlesi can also cause severe disease. Deaths due to malaria reached a peak at 1.82 million in 2004 and then fell to 1.24 million in 2010 (714,000 children <5 years and 524,000 individuals ≥5 years); over 80 percent of the deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.[1,13]. P. falciparum predominates in Africa, New Guinea, and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); P. vivax is more common than P.falciparum in Americas and the western

falciparum, P. vivax, and P. malariae. Anopheles culicifacies is widely distributed and is the principal vector of rural malaria, The primary urban vector is An. stephensi. An. fluviatilis is a vector in the hills and foothills, and An. minimus, An. nivipes, An. philippinensis, and An. dirus are vectors in the northeast where as An.sundaicus is restricted to Andaman and Car Nicobar islands. An. annularis and An. varuna are secondary vectors with wide distribution. The state of Kerala is located in the southern part of India. The state was declared as malaria eradicated in 1965. But since 1969 more and more cases of malaria are being reported. The reason for this resurgence in malaria is as a result of thousands of people from malaria endemic areas being migrating to the state mainly in the construction industry for getting better salary and to enjoy better living standards as compared to their native states. These developments make a challenge in the ecosystem and the surroundings of construction site itself function as a breeding site for