LUCKNOW, May 29 -- Over 20 lakh people people in nine districts will benefit from a chemical shield against malaria-causing mosquitoes as the Uttar Pradesh health department has initiated an exercise to cut the incidence rate of malaria. The initiative uses synthetic pyrethroids-a synthetic chemical insecticide- which is sprayed inside houses and is effective against Anopheles culicifacies mosquito that spreads malaria and is found in rural India. Specific areas have been selected for the initiative. Principal secretary, medical and health, Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, said annual parasite incidence (API) is the ground for selection of areas for the initiative. If the API is more than one in any village then all villages falling under the health sub-centre are included in the drive. At present, in nine districts, 253 sub-centres have been included in the drive and the target is to complete the spraying by July 31 so that the next round can begin from August 1. "We have begun spraying and it will be effective for two-and-half months. Once the duration is completed we will get the same houses sprayed again to give cover for the entire monsoon season," said Dr Vikas Singhal, joint director, vector borne diseases, UP health department. In 2024, the health department had conducted the introductory round in Sitapur, Badaun, Bareilly, Hardoi, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kanpur Dehat, and Sonbhadra. This year the programme is running in nine districts covering 20 lakh population. The nine districts where the chemical will be sprayed are Bareilly, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Hardoi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Sambhal, Sonbhadra. API is the measure of the number of new malaria infections per 1,000 people. So, if Village A has more than one API and the village falls under a sub-centre that caters to four villages, all four villages will be included in the drive. "This is a strategy for rural areas where mostly people live in houses on their own land. In urban India, where the Anopheles stephensi mosquito is found, the strategy is similar to dengue mosquito - reducing the source for mosquito breeding. The bionomics is different for mosquitoes in rural and urban pockets," said Dr Singhal. In urban pockets, people live in apartments. Hence, spraying all flats will not just be time-taking but practically not possible. Till now, UP has reported 1,281 malaria cases while in 2024 there were 13,476 cases. Till now, UP has tested 42,61,102 samples for malaria while last year, till now 27,59,912 samples had been tested. In 2024, 1.45 crore tests had been conducted in all....