PANAJI
With the only cases of malaria detected in Goa since 2023 being those of migrants coming in from other States, especially endemic ones, health officials here are preparing to run the last lap to have the State declared 'malaria-free' more than three decades after the vector-borne disease ran riot here in the '80s and '90s.
The last death due to malaria was reported in the State in 2017 and has been reporting only cases among people migrating into the State for the last two years.
DHS' Deputy Director Dr Kalpana Mahatme who heads the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme in the State, said the State has applied for the elimination of malaria certification in the subnational category for South Goa.
All documentation was submitted after which officials of the Central Health Ministry and WHO conducted an inspection, she said, adding that the certification is awaited. She said steps are currently being taken to follow the same process to get North Goa District certified as malaria-free.
