Ranchi: As many as 170 asymptomatic malaria cases were detected in Belbera village under Tamar block of Ranchi district from June 27 till Friday, prompting the health department to launch an intensive surveillance and treatment drive to prevent further spread.A patient from Bundu block visited Tamar community health centre (CHC) on June 27 complaining of fever, and he was later detected with malaria. While tracing his history, it came to light that he visited a relative in Belbera, prompting the health department to conduct a mass survey in the village.“Mass fever survey was launched across 12 localities in the forested hilly village housing around 40 families. The survey resulted in detection of 170 asymptomatic malaria cases so far. However, no cerebral malaria case has been detected,” district malaria officer (DMO) S K Sabri said on Friday.A health team comprising Ranchi civil surgeon Prabhat Kumar, Sabri, and community health workers visited households in the village, located around 100 km from the district headquarters on Thursday, and conducted the survey.Sabri added that the patients are being provided anti-malarial drugs by teams from Tamar CHC at their doorsteps. “They are given a three-day medicine course. As the patients are asymptomatic, there is no need to admit them to hospital. Primaquine tablets are also being provided to patients based on their age to prevent relapse and further transmission,” he added.Health officials are also spreading awareness among villagers to visit the nearest health care centres and contact health officials in case of fever so that prompt testing and treatment can be ensured.The detection of cases comes amid a cerebral malaria outbreak in East Singhbhum district, which claimed four lives, prompting the health department to step up surveillance and vector control measures across vulnerable districts.The department on Wednesday directed all district administrations to stay alert and intensify measures, particularly in high-risk areas, by strengthening fever surveillance, ensuring the availability of diagnostic kits and medicines, and undertaking mosquito control activities.