Jamshedpur: East Singhbhum district reported 128 fresh malaria cases on Friday, while one suspected death from the disease was recorded overnight, officials said.Health officials said four-year-old Shiv Sardar, a resident of Khariasai village in Potka block, was admitted to Sadar Hospital earlier this week with malaria symptoms. He died during treatment late on Thursday.“The case is under medical investigation. The actual cause of death will be confirmed once the investigation is completed,” said civil surgeon Dr Sahir Pall.Khariasai village in Potka has emerged as a malaria hotspot, officials said.In a related development, Potka community health centre medical officer in-charge Dr Rajani Mahakaud has been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty. Health department sources linked the action to the cerebral malaria outbreak in the block.On Friday, the department conducted 14,200 malaria tests across nine blocks and urban areas of Mango, Birsanagar and in Sadar Hospital.The positive cases included 93 Plasmodium falciparum (PF), 31 Plasmodium vivax (PV) and 4 mixed infections.Between June 29 and Friday, 77,770 tests were conducted, with 1,731 positive cases detected, of which 1,361 are PF infections, 326 PV and 44 mixed. Six confirmed malaria deaths were reported. Officials are carrying out surveillance and testing in affected localities across the district.
