A BSF jawan wears a mask, developed by the force’s medical unit, to protect himself from mosquito bites as he patrols the Kalatilla area near Agartala. File picture

Guwahati, July 21: Soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast will soon have a new weapon to fight a deadly adversary — the malaria-spreading anopheles mosquito.

R.L. Srivastava, the director of the Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), told The Telegraph that they would release a unique herbal vaporiser to protect soldiers from malaria, which has recently assumed alarming proportions.

The exact figures are not available, but defence sources said the disease afflicts scores of soldiers every year. “At least 15 to 20 jawans die in Tripura every year because of malaria,” a senior army officer said.

Srivastava said the laboratory has developed herbal vaporisers using herbs and shrubs found abundantly in the region.

According to him, these products “are more effective than synthetic chemical repellents, will not have any harmful effect on human beings and will keep our soldiers healthy”.

The herbal vaporisers will also be distributed among people residing near army bases in the region.

The laboratory has also prepared a “floating tablet” which kills larvae of mosquitoes when dropped in breeding areas.

“The tablet, which is effective for 30 days, will be used in cantonment areas to kill mosquito eggs,” Srivastava said. “It has proved very effective in areas we have used it in on an experimental basis,” he added.

The DRL director said the laboratory is also preparing a map of malaria-prone areas in the region with the help of remote sensing and geographical identification system. “We have completed the process in certain areas of Assam. It will take some time to prepare the entire map of the region.”

The soldiers have also been issued a code of conduct to avoid getting infected by malaria. “Using nets imprinted with chemicals to repel mosquitoes, applying odomox on the body before entering thick jungles and regular use of chloroquine tables are a few of the directives,” Srivastava said.

The laboratory, under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is the only one of its kind in the Northeast.

It has been working on anti-malaria medicines for soldiers since chloroquine tables proved ineffective in a few places in the region. “We will come up with a few anti-malarial medicines very soon,” Srivastava said.