English

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria is a common condition in tribal regions globally and can be a killer disease if not treated. In India it is widely prevalent specifically in rural and tribal regions and responsible for huge number of morbidity and also mortality. Aims: To know the status of malaria in hospitalized fever cases at a tertiary care centre of a tribal cum rural region of south India. Materials and Methods: Data of six months of all fever cases screened for malaria, reported to RIMS and National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) and hospitalized was collected and analyzed. Result: Out of 4060 hospitalized fever cases 154 (slide positivity rate SPR 3.71) were malaria positive including 148 (96.1%) Falciparum and 6 (3.9%) vivax malaria. Among all the diagnosed malaria cases, 74 were male (1.82% from all fever cases and 2.43% among all male screened cases) while 80 were female cases (1.97% from all fever cases and 7.88% among all female screened cases) indicating relatively high number of cases in less reported female fever cases. Villages were found with poor preventive precautions. Most were farmers and didn’t know about how malaria spreads. Conclusion: With many limitations of the study it can be concluded that, malaria is not uncommon in the region. Number of falciparum malaria is also common and females are the main victims of complicated falciparum malaria. There is urgent need for more serious malaria awareness and control program for the region.