Guwahati: In Kokrajhar district along the Assam-Bhutan border, Adivasi villagers who carry malaria without showing symptoms are unknowingly spreading the disease to others. Health experts have identified this as the cause of a malaria outbreak in Kokrajhar, Assam’s westernmost district, while other districts in the state have managed to control the disease.
As per official figures, Kokrajhar accounts for 1,943 of the state’s 2,831 malaria cases, with most cases reported in the past three months. Besides the adjacent Chirang district, no other district in the state has recorded more than 100 cases.
Health experts monitoring the situation note that a significant number of Adivasis residing in forest-adjacent villages in the Lungsung area, Kokrajhar, have developed resistance to malaria and thus are asymptomatic despite having a malaria infection. These individuals show no fever or other malaria symptoms, making them a significant concern. “Asymptomatic malaria patients have become silent carriers of malaria to fellow villagers. The mosquito bites the infected patients (asymptomatic) and the same mosquito bites healthy persons who are not aware of malaria infection in his or her family member or neighbour because many of them do not show symptoms of malaria at all,” a health official told TOI on Monday.
Experts suggest that Adivasi villagers in affected areas have become resistant following irregular medication intake and non-usage of mosquito nets. "The concerning aspect is that they have become unnoticed carriers of the disease, contributing to its spread in the community,” the official added.
Following CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s directive, cabinet colleague Keshab Mahanta visited Kokrajhar and Chirang last week. Health officials report increased testing amid the minister's visit to the malaria hotspot, revealing numerous asymptomatic malaria cases.
Lungsung’s villagers, predominantly farmers, have disregarded health department warnings, resulting in unusually high cases in recent years. Dr Dwigendra Ramchiary, Chirang district malaria officer (in-charge), states, “People from both Chirang and Kokrajhar go to Lungsung for farming, sometimes stay there and sometimes return. This carries the threat of spread to both districts.” He explained that the anopheles mosquito serves as the vector transmitting the parasite between individuals.