Malkangiri, Sept 15: AI-enabled microscope has recently undergone a trial run at the district headquarters hospital in Malkangiri, Odisha. Malkangiri's chief district medical and public health officer, Prafulla Kumar Nanda, officially inaugurated this innovative technology at the hospital recently.
This remarkable AI microscope boasts the capability to diagnose malaria with remarkable clinical precision. It's worth noting that this microscope has been developed by a startup affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. What sets it apart is its ability to effectively distinguish between two malaria parasites, P. falciparum and P. vivax, leading to more accurate diagnoses.
These two malaria species, as highlighted by the US National Institute of Health, are responsible for the majority of malaria cases worldwide. While P. falciparum is more lethal, P. vivax is the most widespread malaria species, causing severe and sometimes fatal infections, contributing significantly to global morbidity and mortality.
According to the World Health Organization's Summary of World Malaria Report 2021, India accounted for 1.7 percent of global malaria cases and 1.2 percent of malaria-related deaths in 2020. To combat this disease, several Indian states, including Bihar, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Meghalaya, are working towards classifying malaria as a notifiable disease, obligating healthcare providers to report cases to government authorities. Presently, malaria holds notifiable status in 33 Indian states and union territories.
The Indian government has set ambitious goals, aiming to make the country malaria-free by 2027 and ultimately eliminate the disease by 2030, signifying a determined effort to combat this public health challenge.
