AGARTALA, May 10 (TIWN): Malaria, which claimed nearly hundred lives during the summer, has returned to the hills of Tripura. Around 40 patients were admitted to Rupaichari hospital in Sabroom on Saturday. According to sources, conditions of two children are critical.

Earlier, a fresh outbreak has compounded the already grim situation, leading to deaths of 120 people across the state. Village after village has been affected, and a majority of the dead are children.

Health department officials say the disease mostly affects children because due to their lesser immunity. However, the reasons for the latest deadly outbreak, which began in May, are unclear.

But health experts squarely blame the state government for their under-preparedness to handle the crisis. The critics say that the number of doctors is very low in worst-affected areas.

Other factors like lack of knowledge of health workers and purchase of wrong medicines by the state government have caused resentment among health workers. The state government is being blamed by critics and Opposition for purchasing Chloroquine, a drug used for malaria caused due to Plasmodium Vivax. They say that almost all the cases of malaria were due to Plasmodium falciparum, the more fatal form of malaria for which Chloroquine is of no use.

Shortage of effective medicines and failure to secure them from pharmaceutical companies aggravated the situation. However, the intervention of the National Health Mission helped in many ways.