Jamshedpur: Extensive anti-malaria measures in Potka block of East Singhbhum are showing results, with positive cases gradually declining and no malaria-related fatality reported since July 16.Between July 15 and 21, the daily tally stayed in the 20-30 range for five days. A total of 227 cases were detected during the week, including 170 Plasmodium falciparum (PF), 54 Plasmodium vivax (PV) and three mixed infections.The health department sustained intensive screening, testing more than 3,500 people on each of four days and over 2,400 on each of the remaining three days. The positivity rate has dropped from 5.23% on June 29, when the outbreak was first reported, to 1.26%, indicating the impact of surveillance and control measures.Officials credited aggressive vector control, especially Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and fogging. In the past seven days, IRS was carried out in 14 villages and fogging in 10.“One of the most encouraging aspects of the anti-malaria campaign is that villagers are now voluntarily coming forward to attend screening camps,” said district civil surgeon Dr Sahir Pall.Pall said awareness campaigns, including nukkad nataks (street plays), helped educate residents. He added that cooperation from village heads (gram pradhans) was crucial in motivating people to seek treatment at Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs), instead of relying on unqualified practitioners.Potka had emerged as the epicentre of the East Singhbhum outbreak, reporting 50-70 cases daily during the first 12 days of July. Six malaria-linked deaths were reported between June 29 and July 15, including four due to cerebral malaria and two from mixed infections. The district has recorded 2,717 cases from June 29 to July 21.
