Malaria Surge in Haryana - an early warning to relook ongoing elimination efforts

Malaria continues to be a serious public health problem in tropical and subtropical countries of the world including India, resulting in millions of cases and deaths annually. Global efforts to eliminate malaria are continuously being scaled up and helping countries to move towards elimination by 2030. India is also accelerating its efforts and has shown significant progress in last few years with few pockets of uncertainties. This study aimed to explore the epidemiological profile of malaria in Haryana State of India during past five decades and its correlation with climatic variability into public health planning as well as implementation of integrated vector control strategies together with enhanced surveillance networks which could help to mitigate the malaria transmission in the State.

Literature search related to the malaria epidemiology in Haryana was carried out using the electronic medical secondary databases i.e. Google Scholar and PubMed for the past five decades with the appropriate key words and inclusion & exclusion criteria as well as annual malaria data for the past 7 years was captured from the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control (NCVBDC) website.

The literature search using the secondary databases as mentioned above revealed a total of 134 research articles, out of which only 18 research papers were found relevant to Haryana and were reviewed further for epidemiological profile and correlation with climatic variability and disease control. Based on the epidemiological studies and data captured from National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC) from 2018-2024, it was found that the number of malaria cases in Haryana decreased from 3149 to 52 cases (98.34%), in 2022 but thereafter cases started rising and reached to 270 cases in 2024, showing a rising trend that needs to be addressed urgently in view of the elimination targets of 2030.

This study indicates a slight increase in the malaria incidence in Haryana, which require an immediate and early action. There is a need to understand the rising incidence of malaria, which can be due to climate related factors, affecting mosquitoes proliferation and survival resulting in enhanced malaria transmission or gaps in the health systems for effective implementation of vector control measures. Hence, it is suggested to strengthen disease surveillance, promote robust clinical management and take effective vector control measures to bring the rising incidence down and sustain the malaria elimination efforts.