Sudurpaschim Province is at high risk of malaria, according to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. More than half of the malaria cases in the country are reported in Sudurpaschim Province, particularly in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Bajura districts.

According to the division, out of 1,187 malaria cases reported from across the country in the last fiscal year, 586 were from Sudurpaschim Province.

Speaking at an interaction organised on World Malaria Day in Kanchanpur on Thursday, Ghanashyam Pokharel, chief at the division, said that 301 malaria cases were reported in Kailali, 137 in Kanchanpur and 60 in Bajura district.

In the past, malaria was mostly prevalent in the Tarai region. Over the

last few years, however, the disease has been detected among the people in hill and mountain districts. The division officials say malaria cases are rising in Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Bajhang, Bajura, Doti and Achham district in the recent years.

The division plans to make Nepal free of malaria by 2025. But with malaria spreading rapidly in the hill and mountain regions, authorities are facing challenges to control the disease, “The open border mobility has also led to the spread of malaria in the hill and mountain districts,” said Ramesh Malasi, officiating chief public health officer of the Sudurpaschim Health Directorate.

Many Nepali returning migrant workers were diagnosed with malaria last year. They had contracted the disease in India.

Malaria is a life-threatening mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasite. Its symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea and headache.