Nagpur: Malaria deaths in Gadchiroli have more than halved this year compared to 2024 and 2025, as the district set in motion a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the vector menace. This year, six deaths were recorded till July, as compared to 14 each in the previous two years.
Positive cases between Jan and Sept also came down, from 6,411 last year to 3,940 this year. The test positivity rate has come down from 0.49% in Jan to Sept last year to 0.32% in the same period this year, and stood at just 0.20% in Sept. The department conducted 12,19,783 tests between Jan and Sept this year, including 5,07,675 blood smears and 7,12,108 rapid diagnostic tests. The annual parasite incidence (API), which measures confirmed cases per 1,000 population, averaged 4.62 for Jan to Sept this year. This compares with 10.97 in 2021, 8.17 in 2022, 5.90 in 2024 and 6.42 in 2025. The first round of indoor insecticide spraying ran from June 10 to Sept 4 and covered 1,60,956 houses. The department said 5,09,058 people, or 98.9% of the population of the sprayed villages, are now protected. A biological test of alpha-cypermethrin, a new insecticide used in the focal round, showed mosquitoes were killed within 24 hours of spraying. The health department also screened 39,663 students in 150 ashram schools and treated 371 found infected. All 14,891 migrants who returned after working outside the district were screened.
The district collector’s office confirmed that no malaria-related death was reported in Aug and Sept. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in Nagpur Stay updated with the latest Nagpur news.
Collector Avishyant Panda said the results showed the campaign had worked. The campaign built on record tests and insecticide spraying in high-risk areas,” said Panda. Panda said people should keep up the effort. Every citizen who feels chills and fever should immediately go to a govt centre and get a free test,” he said. “ASHA workers, health workers and medical officers have reached even the remotest hamlets, and that is why positivity rate and API have fallen significantly,” Gade said in a statement.
“Bringing malaria infection and deaths under control in a geographically challenging and remote district like Gadchiroli is the result of meticulous planning by the health department and the district administration. Private practitioners have been given malaria test kits and asked to test every fever patient or refer them to a govt institution. “Zero deaths for two straight months is a relief, but the danger has not been fully averted. Zilla parishad chief executive officer Suhas Gade credited the field staff for the fall in positivity rate and API. Download the TOI App.