Malaria Incidence Among Paramilitary Personnel in an Endemic Area of Tripura‪.‬

Malaria continues to cause high rates of morbidity and mortality in India, and remains as a major public health concern in the country. There is an increasing trend in the proportion of Plasmodium falciparum infection in India during the last few decades and the parasite has become resistant to conventional drugs (1). The northeastern States of India are highly prone to malaria incidence and transmission, and the control of P. falciparum malaria poses a great challenge to development of this part of the country (2). The State of Tripura in the northeastern region of India is surrounded by Bangladesh except in the north. The State is strategically important since it shares a long international border with frequent movement of defence forces guarding it. There is a high risk of acquiring the infection along the inter-state or international border areas and severe morbidity is being regularly reported from among the defence personnel posted in these areas (3). Outbreaks of malaria may incapacitate large number of personnel so as to hinder military operations in sensitive areas. The armed forces and paramilitary personnel deployed in the region are particularly vulnerable to malaria due to outdoor patrolling activities and lack of immunity. The village populations surrounding the paramilitary installations serve as reservoirs for malaria parasites and hence have an important role to play in the epidemiology of malaria among the service personnel (4,5). Tripura State Rifles (TSR) is a paramilitary force deployed in the State with many outposts along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the incidence of malaria in TSR units and outposts along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhalai district of Tripura. The disease incidence in the villages surrounding the paramilitary installations in these areas was also studied and comparisons were made.