Malaria: cost to India and future trends.

ABSTRACT

A study of the economic loss due to malaria and its future trends revealed that malaria in India was responsible for economic loss between US$ 0.5 to 1.0 billion annually. The study also brought out that malariogenic potential of the country is increasing, and new malaria paradigms have been established requiring new approaches for its control. Unless this trend is checked losses due to malaria will increase in the coming decades. Effective malaria control requires immediate remedial measures to prevent environmental degradation conductive to vector proliferation; and renewed attack on malaria based on local epidemiological, entomological and social determinants. The first requirement for such an action is a reliable data base, both on the malariometric indices and the causative factors. Research therefore should be intensified to fill the gaps, generate new knowledge, disseminate malaria information as widely as possible and provide training for success in malaria control by the implementation of the global malaria control strategy.