Guwahati, May 9 -- Simrin Sirur

In 1990, India reportedapproximately 33 million cases of malaria. By 2019, that number plummeted to 5.5 million due to a host of government interventions designed to reduce malaria incidence. Deaths from malaria saw a similar decline. Newresearchfinds that forests may have played a marginal role in avoiding additional malaria deaths, even though forests are generally considered malaria hotspots.

Forests - with their dense canopies and humid weather - are hotspots for malaria breeding and transmission in India. Malaria is transmitted when a female Anopheles mosquito carrying thePlasmodiumparasite, bites a human host during feeding. Forested districts contributed to 32% of malaria cases and 42% of malaria m...