Climate change to affect spread of malaria in India, study says

Over the next 20 years, "[c]limate change is likely to spread malaria to new areas in the Indian Himalayas, and lengthen the periods in which the infection is spread in a number of districts, according to projections [.pdf] from" researchers at the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR), Delhi, and published in a special issue of Current Science on Wednesday, SciDev.Net reports.

However, "India's east coast would have reduced transmission, because of an increase in temperature, and the western regions would see a minimal impact, the analysis showed," the news source writes. "[T]he report cautions … this climate assessment needs to be integrated with socio-economic factors, as transmission is also driven by crop practices, water availability, urbanization, and interventions such as bednets and insecticide sprays," SciDev.Net notes (Padma, 8/11).