In Mizoram, officials of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) under the National Health Mission (NHM) said on Saturday that the state continues to have the highest prevalence of malaria in the entire country as per the annual parasite incidence (API) figures.

The officials revealed the situation of malaria in the state on the occasion of observance of the World Malaria Day, saying the number of malarial cases detected per 1,000 samples tested in the state is highest amongst other states in the country. The theme of this year’s World Malaria Day is ‘Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Re-imagine, Re-ignite’.

Emphasising the need for eradication of malaria, the officials said, source reduction drive (SRD) should be given utmost importance in villages in order to declare their respective villages as malaria free.

State health minister Lalrinpuii said, there has been no report of malarial death during this year even as 866 malaria cases have been detected since January till March. She underscored the role of village councils, especially in districts like Mamit bordering Bangladesh and Tripura, Siaha bordering Myanmar, Lawngtlai bordering Bangladesh and Lunglei bordering Bangladesh where malaria prevalence is higher than other districts.

NVBDCP officials said that the state’s API was 13.24 during 2024 with high prevalence of malaria in the 4 districts sharing international border with Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Of 16,899 malaria cases detected during last year, 8,950 of them are Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) while 7,943 are Plasmodium vivax (Pv), the officials said, adding out of 967 villages, 463 villages are recorded as zero API (without malaria cases).