Table 4.

Malaria in India

Nearly 14% of the Indian population is at high-risk for malaria, with over 1 million infections and 2000 deaths each year. Climate change is predicted to shift the malarial zones in India. However other factors are likely to exert an equal, if not more, significant effect. This includes economic growth, irrigation and farming, urbanization, deforestation in tribal areas, and improved primary healthcare to indigenous groups. These will not only shift vector and pathogen dynamics, but also the health status of at risk populations, impacting anemia, poverty, illiteracy, immunity and nutrition, which also influence the likelihood of adverse clinical disease. Development activities, from dams, canals and road and railway construction will also influence seasonal malaria trends. The expansion of malaria into highland areas will be influenced not only by climate, but also rapid population growth and deforestation, especially around valley ecosystems. From Garg et al. [139]