Mizoram: Respiratory diseases top cause of certified deaths in 2025

Respiratory diseases were the leading cause of medically certified deaths in Mizoram in 2025, according to a new state government report.

The Medical Certification of Causes of Death (MCCD) Report 2025, published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, found that 721 people died of respiratory illnesses last year, including 268 women. That is 17.3 per cent of all deaths that were medically certified in the state.

The report was released in Aizawl by Vanlaldina Fanai, Commissioner and Secretary and Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths.

Leading causes of death in 2025

The report ranks the main causes of certified deaths as follows:

• Respiratory diseases: 17.3 per cent (721 deaths)
• Digestive diseases: 15 per cent
• Circulatory system diseases (heart and blood vessels): 13.7 per cent
• Infectious and parasitic diseases: 12.2 per cent
• Cancers (neoplasms): 11 per cent

Fewer certified deaths than 2024

Mizoram recorded 4,146 medically certified deaths in 2025, 183 fewer than the 4,329 recorded in 2024.

Aizawl district accounted for the largest number by far, with 2,664 certified deaths. Lunglei came second with 350 and Kolasib third with 282.

What the MCCD report measures

The MCCD system covers deaths where a doctor certifies the cause, usually in hospitals. It does not capture every death in the state, especially those that happen at home in remote villages without a medical certificate, so the figures show patterns among certified deaths rather than total mortality.

Even so, the report is one of the few official sources on why people die in Mizoram, and health planners use it to decide where to focus resources. The respiratory category typically covers illnesses such as pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but the summary figures released so far do not break it down further.

Doctors generally advise people with a long-term cough, breathlessness or chest pain to get checked early at a health centre, and to avoid smoking and indoor smoke from cooking fires, which are known risk factors for lung disease.