Despite the decrease in malaria mortality and morbidity, it remains a significant public health problem in India. India is targeting malaria elimination from the country by 2030. Different areas in India are in different phases of malaria elimination. The emerging resistance in vectors as well parasite have added necessity to accelerate the malaria elimination programme. Forested areas remain the foci for malaria transmission due to favourable human and environmental factors. Here, we analysed the longitudinal data from 2000 to 2019 to see the trends in forest malaria in India. Population living in forested areas are major malaria contributors. From 2000 to 2019, ~32% of malaria cases and 42% of malaria related deaths were reported from forested districts which represent only ~6.6% of the total Indian population. Increasing insecticide resistance, a high percentage of submicroscopic infections and challenging to test and treat communities are the crucial components of the prevailing obstacles of forested malaria. To achieve the elimination goal, efforts should be intensified with more resources diverted to the forested areas. Malaria control in forested areas will bring fruitful results for malaria control in India.

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BackgroundFor the success of any program, its implementation plays a crucial role. Community health workers are of immense importance for malaria elimination from India.ObjectiveThis study was aimed to assess the knowledge gaps and the responsible factors for mitanins' knowledge on various aspects of and problems faced by mitanins during their work.MethodsStructured interviewer-based questionnaire was used to collect the data, and ordinal regression was applied to analyze the data.ResultsOnly 26% of the mitanins were having a good knowledge attitude and practices (KAP) score about malaria. Malaria endemicity of area [odds ratio (OR) = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.13–0.50), P < 0.001] and education (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.18–0.69, P = 0.002) were the two significant factors affecting the KAP of mitanins.Conclusion:This study shows that prioritizing education while recruiting the mitanins and training them in the low endemic areas with a focus on malaria, which will help achieve the malaria elimination goal.

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection worldwide. This study aimed to determine the entomological and community-related factors involved in dengue spread during the outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, 2018. This was a cross-sectional study. The household survey was done to find out the vector responsible for disease transmission and favourable breeding containers. Susceptibility of larvae towards the larvicide being used was carried out. A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to find out the awareness of residents in the area towards dengue. House index, Container index, and Breteau index were 92.31, 33.14 and 123.34, respectively. Larvae were susceptible to the larvicide being used by the local health department. A high number of wet containers available were contributing to high vector breeding. Community awareness was low in the affected area. Water storage practices and conducive climatic conditions lead to increased vector breeding.