Hygiene crucial to fight malaria

The findings were released on the occasion of World Malaria Day on Monday. Around 32 per cent, out of 1,300 doctors who participated in the poll said that increase in malarial deaths is because of unhygienic living conditions. The poll was conducted by Curofy, India’s largest community of doctors. 

Malaria is a vector borne disease which proliferates in unclean places with standing water. With open sewage system and non-existence of waste disposal in the country, spreading of diseases due to filth is unsurprising, the poll said.

“People have to take care of themselves by keeping their surroundings clean. Self-prevention is the best way to beat malaria. Wearing long sleeved clothes, using mosquito nets and repellents in the peak seasons are small things that keep in check the spread of malaria,” said Dr PK Jha, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine at Medanta. 

About 23 per cent of the physicians said that the deaths are due to lack of healthcare in the remote areas. In a country where there is only 1 doctor for 1,700 people, very few of them practice in rural areas where it is actually needed. This has created a shortage of healthcare services in the remote areas, the poll said. 

About 26 per cent of the doctors also cited lack of awareness as the cause of the rise in deaths. Only 18 per cent of doctors think that incomplete treatment leading to drug resistance is the culprit behind the deaths. Mudit Vijayvergiya, Co-founder of Curofy said.  “The results of the poll along with the statistics show that we need to work in a lot of areas, from spreading awareness to providing healthcare services in the deep dredges of our society, to make India malaria free.”